Japan's unemployment woes

Unemployment rose to a record 3.2 million last year

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is fighting to win back public confidence, reiterating his pledge to lead the country out of its grave recession.

But the latest unemployment figures reveal no signs of improvement.

Unemployment rates did not ease up during December and are stuck at 4.8%, only marginally below the highest ever level of 4.9%.

Mori is now fighting to survive the nation's increasing frustration over the weak economy, and the aftermath of a corruption scandal in the foreign ministry.

Prioritising growth

"It is my top priority to put the economy back onto the self-sustaining recovery track at the earliest stage possible," said Mr. Mori at the opening of the new session of parliament on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister vowed recovery from recession

Mr Mori also apologised over the recent bribery scandal within his own administration which led to the resignation of the state minister in charge of economic policy.

Early last year, Japan looked to be making a tentative recovery from its worst recession in 50 years, but since then, signs of further weakness have emerged.

And a slowdown of the US economy will inevitably see a decline in Japanese exports over the coming months.

Japanese unemployment rose to a record 3.2 million last year, primarily as a result of corporate restructuring and cut backs due to heavy debt burdens.

Signs of hope

But the year-on-year rise of 30,000 jobless people meant that the rate of rise was slower than that suffered the previous year.

And there have been some brighter spots in the Japanese economy of late.

Despite the high unemployment rate, consumer spending in December was up 0.8% when compared to the previous year, and up 0.5% on the previous month.