Just a quick yupdate on the economic situation.

Financial Times : Japanfs trade surplus shrinks 60% in January

Quote Originally Posted by FT
Japanfs trade surplus shrank sharply in January, providing little evidence of the hoped-for improvement in exports that is needed to reignite the stalled economic recovery.

A 60 per cent fall in the trade surplus from a year earlier to Y201bn (US$1.93bn) partly reflected higher commodity prices and greater demand for imported products, itself a fairly healthy sign.