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To: Gottfried who wrote (24772)	10/1/1998 3:02:00 AM
From: Paul V.	Respond to of 70976

Gottfried, FYI, the following Japan/Asia post. washingtonpost.com This may have a positive impact today. Paul V> Japan to Unveil Plan to Aid Asian Nations By Sandra Sugawara Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, October 1, 1998; Page C03 TOKYO, Sept. 30 – Japanese leaders, hoping to dispel widespread criticism that they have not done enough to help stem global financial turmoil, plan to announce a $30 billion aid package for Southeast Asian nations this weekend. Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told reporters here today that Japanese officials plan to present the plan at a meeting in Washington of the finance ministers of the Group of Seven major industrial countries. Under what is being called "the Miyazawa plan," the Export-Import Bank of Japan, a quasi-governmental financial institution, would guarantee loans by Southeast Asian nations and also would purchase government bonds from those countries. In addition, it might pay the interest on loans made to them to help them raise funds. "We would like to implement it after explaining it at the G-7 meeting, if the Asian countries agree with it," Miyazawa said. The proposal also will be discussed with finance ministers and central bankers from Asia when they meet this weekend ahead of a gathering of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The financial market instability of the past year has plunged several Asian economies into recession, thrown millions out of work and fueled widespread political unrest. Japan's economy, which is in recession, is the largest in Asia, and its revival is widely seen as crucial to the region's recovery. Japanese leaders are expecting to face tough questioning from G-7 officials about their efforts to fix their economy. Last year, the Japanese proposed a $100 billion fund, with contributions from many countries, to help Asian nations hit by the economic crisis. But at the time, that idea was opposed by Clinton administration and IMF officials, who feared it would undercut the IMF's efforts. The Treasury Department had no comment on the plan. Several private economists have said that direct assistance from Japan could give Southeast Asian nations some breathing room. But they also have said the funds probably will not outweigh the negative impact of Japan's weak banking system and economy, which has sent Japanese demand for Southeast Asian products plummeting. Japan's financial system woes caused Tokyo stocks to fall to a new 12*-year low, despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision Tuesday to cut a key short-term interest rate. The Nikkei index plunged 3 percent to close at 13,406.39. Traders said that financial company shares were heavily sold after Moody's Investors Service Inc., a U.S. rating agency, cut the long-term debt rating of Nomura Securities to A3 from A1. The two-notch move – considered a sizable downgrade – ignited new concerns about Japan's financial system because Nomura is the largest and considered the healthiest of Japan's brokerages. Moody's said the downgrade reflected losses in Nomura's international operations and severe earnings pressure in Japan. Nomura's U.S. and British operations suffered substantial losses as a result of the Russian economic crisis. Meanwhile, the approval ratings for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's cabinet sank to 25 percent, according to a poll by Kyodo News. It was the first poll that Kyodo has taken of the Obuchi government since its July 30 inauguration, and the lowest level for a post-inauguration poll since Kyodo began such surveys in 1964. Most of the 67.2 percent who disapproved of the Obuchi cabinet cited a lack of leadership and a lack of confidence in Obuchi's economic policies. © Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company