News and Events

DISRUPTS BUSINESS

Japan's neighbours have grown increasingly anxious at the risk of contamination from radiation, with some schools in South Korea closing because of fears of toxic rain. Officials there said the radiation levels in the atmosphere were harmless.

China's health ministry said this week traces of radioactivity had been found in spinach in three provinces and the state news agency Xinhua reported trace levels of radioactivity detected in 22 provinces.

To cope with power shortages, Japan's government has asked major companies to cut electricity use in the peak summer months by up to a quarter and the Tokyo Stock Exchange said the power cuts meant it would have to delay plans to extend trading hours.

The impact of the quake meant both output and exports, major pillars of the economy would remain weak, the central bank said.

Output will hover at a low level for the time being but then start to increase as supply constraints are mitigated, the Bank of Japan said in its monthly report for April.

Companies and households will need to cut back significantly on power usage this summer when demand is at its peak, Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said after a cabinet meeting. He urged major companies to cut electricity consumption by 25 per cent.

But some ministers at Friday's cabinet meeting called for an end to a campaign of self restraint by ordinary people that was adopted immediately after March 11 to cut fuel or electricity use and discourage stockpiling of necessities.

Some cabinet ministers said excessive self-restraint could worsen the economy, weakening economic power for reconstruction, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters.