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Japan's Inflation Surges

Posted Mar 28, 08 8:58 AM CDT in World,  Business 

(Newser) – A double whammy of rising inflation and unemployment has experts worried that Japan’s economy—the world’s second largest—is fast losing steam, reports the Wall Street Journal. Inflation in February rose 1%, its fastest spike in a decade, and household spending stalled in the face of rising food and oil prices.

"With economic growth pausing and workers' wages not increasing, I cannot say that recent rises in consumer prices are good," said the economy minister. "I'm concerned about how such price rises will affect consumers." Japan’s unemployment rate edged up 0.1% to 3.9%, after staying flat for three months; officials said slowing economic growth was to blame.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Money traders at a Tokyo dealing room.   (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
A man walks by a Tokyo brokerage's stock board indicating Japan's stock market rose to its highest level in two weeks Friday, March 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
A cook picks up a cabbage as he shops at a Tokyo supermarket Thursday, March 6, 2008. Japan's inflation rate climbed at its fastest rate in a decade in February.   (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
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