Employment is yet another concern. The closing down of financial institutions amidst the current economic sluggishness may be expected to exacerbate joblessness. Some encouraging news has been heard, however. Demand is particularly strong for those with computer skills, but overall it seems fair to say that the diversity of the labor market is what has saved the day. On the international level, meanwhile, Japan's domestic financial unrest is adversely affecting confidence in the country's economy as a whole.
Markets have a tendency of reaching an overall judgment and applying it across the board.
Over time, however, market players will gain the ability to see which Japanese financial institutions face problems and which are in excellent health. Also on the international scene we cannot ignore the currency crisis that started in Thailand and has since spread to Hong Kong and South Korea. Japan has only recently begun to succeed in putting out the fires left over from its financial meltdown. We must take care that sparks from this new crisis do not reignite the embers. Points of concern include the fate of the loans Japanese banks have made to East Asian borrowers and the investments Japanese manufacturers have made in local production facilities around the region.