英文： 10 year worn out Japanese economy gains ground
Japan's economic prospects¹ brightened on Friday as the jobless rate fell to a seven-year low and industrial production gained at a healthy pace, news that sent the stock market to its highest level in four and a half months.

Japan's economic prospects brightened on Friday as the jobless rate fell to a seven-year low and industrial production gained at a healthy pace, news that sent the stock market to its highest level in four and a half months.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent in June, its lowest level since July 1998 and a drop from the 4.4 percent reported in May, according to the Ministry² of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Hopes are that steady improvements in the job market and resulting income growth will prompt Japanese consumers to spend more, strengthening the nation's nascent³ economic recovery so far sustained by exports.

"We've been seeing some improvement in wages," said Akira Maekawa, economist⁴ at UBS Securities, "and the jobless data would advance this improvement even further."

Japan's economy has been stagnant⁵ for more than a decade, occasionally gaining steam but failing to maintain consistent growth. In the first quarter, Japan had its best quarterly growth in a year, expanding at an annual pace of 5.3 percent after contracting over the middle two quarters of 2004.

In another bright spot for the economy, the government said industrial output for June rose 1.5 percent as electronic devices and machinery⁶ makers⁷ boosted production, suggesting that Japan's corporate⁸ sector⁹ will contribute to growth. That performance was in line with economists¹⁰' forecasts.

　　　中文：失业率降到7年来最低 10年疲软日本经济抬头
日本政府7月29日公布的统计数字表示，该国失业率降到7年以来的最低点，同时工业生产指数也保持稳步增长。

日本政府7月29日公布的统计数字表示，该国失业率降到7年以来的最低点，同时工业生产指数也保持稳步增长。消息一经发出，东京股票市场就攀升至4个半月以来的最高点。

据法新社7月29日报道，据日本内务及通信产业省透露，在刚刚过去的6月份中，日本国内失业率下降到了4.2％，这个数字是自1998年7月以来的最低点。劳动力市场的稳步提高有望推动国民收入稳步递增，进而促进国内消费市场的发展，使刚刚显现出复苏态势的日本经济持续当前的形式。由于之前的经济复苏多源于出口贸易，这次国内消费的回升无疑将会进一步起到推波助澜的作用。
在过去10多年中，日本经济一直陷于停滞不前的状态，偶尔的增长往往不能稳定持续下去。然而，从今年第1季度开始，日本经济有了明显的起色。如果连同2004年3、4季度计算在内，日本经济增长幅度在最近一年中达到了5.3％。同时，日本政府还透露，随着电子设备和机械制造业的需求猛增，6月份本国工业出口额增长了1.5％，这预示着日本企业部门的增长未来也将成为推动经济复苏的因素之一。