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Japan faces uncertainty after nuke leak: US expert

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-15 20:01

BOAO, Hainan - Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis ignited by a powerful earthquake last month is leading the country toward a future of uncertainty, an American expert on Japan said here Friday.

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"The Japanese are worried about the future of Japan's economy, " Kent Calder, director of East Asia Studies in the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University and the Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Xinhua.

Calder, who is also a former special advisor to the US ambassador to Japan, is attending the annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held in China's southern island of Hainan on April 14-16.

When asked what impact the nuclear crisis would have on Japan, Calder voiced concern over Japan's economy, adding that Japan is probably facing uncertainty.

The extraordinarily large costs of reconstruction, an aging society, and its heavy debt are all serious issues, he said.

"Nevertheless, there is also a positive side," he said. "The Japanese government is still very well-organized, and, if they make a decision, they are very good at implementing it."