Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2004

VIEWS FROM THE STREET

By MELANIE BURTON

Atsushi Yatsuda
Stock analyst, 32
The Japanese economy is picking up. We used to have a lot of vacancies for rental spaces, which are filling up. When I talk to customers, I feel an exuberance.

Michael Ho
Ballet teacher
Coming from England, Japan looks like it is thriving. It's a very wealthy country. Everyone seems to be out shopping, so they must have money.

Andrew Shuttleworth
IT manager, 28
I've been feeling positive about the economy for the last year or so. Certainly from an IT and business perspective people are a lot more excited and positive.

Aya Amataka
Salaryman, 28
Right now politics isn't really stable. Mr Koizumi and the Democrats don't seem strong. And a lot of people around me don't have jobs.

Marcy Adamik
Embassy worker, 36
I'm positive about the Japanese economy recovering. Because the banks in Japan are strong, and some of the larger companies this year have shown a profit.

Hiromi Ozaki
Student, 19
I think the economy is getting stronger. I don't think people should feel so pessimistic all the time, but in Japan it's common to think like that.

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