Japan logs record fall in Dec exports

Japan's exports registered their biggest fall on record last month, sparking concerns that local companies will be forced to eliminate more jobs and shut more factory lines, driving the world's second-biggest economy deeper into recession. Exports plunged 35% to 4.833 trillion yen (US$54.15bn) in December as against 7.434 trillion yen in the same month a year earlier, according to provisional figures released by the Finance Ministry. This was the sharpest decline since 1980, the earliest year for which there is comparable data. The December drop eclipsed a record 26.7% decline set the previous month. Economists had predicted a 30% contraction. Imports shrank 21.5% to 5.153 trillion yen in December, resulting in a trade gap of 320 billion yen, its third straight month of deficit. Japan's shipments to the US, China and Europe fell by the most ever, as the global recession sapped demand for it's cars and electronics.