Japan's workers have seen their average monthly cash earnings dwindle for the tenth straight month in March as the economy came to a halt and demand for their goods from foreigners plummeted. Unemployment in the country jumped 0.4 percentage points to 4.8% in same month. Continued labor weakness may give employers leverage to continue dropping wages, ultimately leaving less in the pockets of the Japaense to spend. Such a scenarior would only send the economy in a spiral that would force the country to rely only on external factors to lift their situation. We've already seen their merchandise trade exports decline for the previous six consecutive months despite the fact that the figure had been in positive territory for all but two months since Apr. 2002.
