The Jan. 8 article " '07 vehicle sales lowest in 35 years" indicates that Japan is finally waking up to reality. Domestic sales in Japan will decline in nearly every sector. Fewer people mean lower sales. There is no cure but immigration, and that will never happen on the scale needed to produce results in Japan because of the blatant racism.
The advice is to concentrate on margins rather than sales numbers, which will inevitably decline. And don't look abroad for exports to make up the decline, as they will start declining pretty soon, too. The world is heading into a recession. All analysts -- at least the clever ones -- know it but won't admit it, since that would drag stocks and markets further down.
With dwindling economic importance, Japan will further slide down the scale politically as well. That is a blessing in disguise, for Japan should not and cannot be trusted. The mentality has not changed since the 1930s. The fear of losing, however, is the world's safeguard against Japan.
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