Japanese Exports to the US Fall by Nearly 53% in January

According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's total exports fell 45.7% in January, to the lowest level in 10 years. Japan is in a particularly precarious position given it's reliance on consumer discretionary exports such as electronics and automobiles to the West. Exports of Japanese cars fell by 69% in January.

The Government stated last week that Japan is in it's worst economic crisis since World War II (does anyone remember the early 90's?). On December 29, 1989, the Nikkei index closed at an all time high of 38,915.87. On February 29, 2009, it closed at 7461.22. A loss of roughly 81% over 20 years.

Japan is the second largest economy after the United States.