Coronavirus pandemic

Pandemic deals severe blow to Japan's factory, retail sectors

TOKYO • Japan's April factory output fell at a much faster-than-expected pace and retail sales tumbled the most in more than two decades as a coronavirus-triggered state of emergency dealt a heavy blow to the economy.

Global activity ground to a halt in April as government-imposed lockdowns due to the pandemic disrupted supply chains and led consumers to postpone many purchases, putting a damper on the outlook for the world's third largest economy.

Official data yesterday showed that factory output fell 9.1 per cent in April from the previous month, the biggest drop since comparable data became available in 2013 as carmakers and iron and steel manufacturers suffered sharp output declines due to weak global demand.

That was a much larger decline than the 5.1 per cent drop in a Reuters forecast.

Separate data showed retail sales slid at their fastest pace since March 1998 as the nationwide state of emergency led service-sector businesses like restaurants to close and encouraged consumers to stay home.

Retail sales plunged 13.7 per cent in April from a year earlier, heavily weighed by slumping demand for general merchandise and clothing as well as motor vehicles.

The gloomy data comes after Japan's export-reliant economy fell into recession for the first time in 41/2 years in the first quarter.

The government this week lifted the state of emergency and approved a second US$1.1 trillion (S$1.56 trillion) stimulus package, bringing the total pledged to save the economy from the pandemic to US$2.2 trillion, or about 40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Japan was already trying to shake off weak demand before the outbreak, after the government raised the nationwide sales tax to repair its public debt burden, which is more than twice the size of GDP.

Other government data yesterday further highlighted the widening hit to the jobs market from the oztbreak.

The April jobless rate rose to 2.6 per cent, its highest since December 2017, while the number of non-regular workers posted the biggest year-on-year drop on record.

Job availability slipped to 1.32, its lowest since March 2016.

The factory output data showed manufacturers surveyed by the government expect output to fall another 4.1 per cent in May, followed by a 3.9 per cent rise in June.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 30, 2020, with the headline Pandemic deals severe blow to Japan's factory, retail sectors. Subscribe