Economic, political fallout from Japan quakes set to continue

Tokyo

EVEN as a swathe of Japan's industries reels from the impact of last week's earthquakes on factory output, data released on Wednesday indicated a sixth consecutive month of decline in Japanese exports in March.

March exports fell 6.8 per cent from their level a year ago, after having fallen 4.0 per cent in February. Exports to China, Japan's biggest single trading partner, fell 7.1 per cent, while shipments to the US dropped by 5.1 per cent; exports to Asia, which accounts for more than half of outgoing shipments, fell 9.7 per cent.