Japanese firms affected by deterioration

TOKYO - A report, released by a Japanese credit and market research group company recently, showed nearly 30 percent Japanese companies suffered adversely impact due to deteriorating ties between Japan and China.

In a survey conducted by Teikoku Databank, Ltd, from Oct 19 through 31, with over 10 thousand responses, the results indicated that about 33.6 percent Japanese companies' sales revenue dropped since the bilateral relation worsen by the Diaoyu Islands issue.

Wholesale was the most affected sector with about 37.6 percent firms hit, followed by the manufacturing sector with about 31 percent firms hit, said the report.

Meanwhile, the majority of Japanese companies doing direct business with China will "maintain the current business scale" in the future.

According to the government's economic data of September, Japan's exports to China have fallen by 14.1 percent from the same month last year, for four consecutive months since June, with automobiles down as much as 44.5 percent.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged to try to ease tensions with China on Nov 2, growing fears on worsening bilateral relations would further weigh on Japan's flagging export- reliant economy.