Japan's businesses are in

Japan's businesses are in deep trouble despite the weakening of the yen which makes the import/export figures look better.

Yesterday MyCal, a national grocery and retail chain, closed its doors after a two-day 80% off sale. eBay Japan is considering how to manage compeition in the online auction market here. One idea is to sell itself to Yahoo Japan. Daiei, is considering selling off its baseball park/hotel complex in Fukuoka and maybe even its baseball team, the Hawks.

I've often been surprised that small mom-and-pop boutiques stay in business, but the little shopping streets in our neighborhood are going strong as ever. At least the ones that haven't been torn down to build megalith apartment complexes. I hope they can hang on through this bad patch.