How can they say the Japanese Economy is on the Mend

Japan's Mizuho Financial Group Deep in Red

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's Mizuho Financial Group said Friday it aimed to raise about eight billion dollars to shore up its finances after suffering its first annual loss in six years due to the credit crunch.
Japan's top banks were initially seen as relatively immune to a US-born credit crunch, but they have been badly burned by the financial crisis, partly because they have a large exposure to the stock market.

Japan grapples with deflation, weak investment
by Harumi Ozawa Harumi Ozawa – Fri May 15, 1:51 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan faces signs of mounting deflationary pressures and sluggish
business investment as the world's number two economy reels from its worst
recession since World War II.
Wholesale prices fell 3.8 percent in April
from a year earlier, the steepest drop in nearly 22 years, the central bank
said, raising concerns that Asia's biggest economy is slipping into another bout
of deflation.
Consumer price inflation turned negative in March for the
first time in 18 months and the fear is that Japan may see a repeat of its 1990s
deflationary spiral when falling prices led to weak consumer spending.

More young Japanese commit suicide amid slump
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 14, 11:34 am ET

TOKYO – The economic slump and subsequent job losses have driven
more young Japanese to commit suicide, with a record number of victims in their 30s, police said Thursday.