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JAPANíS FUTURE LIES IN ITS PEOPLEíS HANDS   :   By: Jennifer Matarazzo

.	Confidence is the key element for the restoration of a nation. The Japanese government recently unveiled a financial package worth $124 billion, in hopes of nursing the economy back to life. Many of the citizenís faith in their government has diminished due to their suffering economy. Some people criticized the package saying that it will only have temporary positive effects while others believe that it will help recover the economy from the brink of recession. Hirofumi Murabayashi, press officer for the Japanese Consulate in New York City, said he believes the stimulus package will have a positive effect Japan. "We expect that this package has the effect to stimulate the economy and push up the GNP for the next 12 months by more than two percent," he said. According to the Japan Times online, the bulk of the package came in the form of an additional 7.7 trillion yen in public work spending by the central and local governments. The two trillion yen in tax rebates for 1998 would augment the two trillion yen in tax cuts already implemented. Murabayashi said that the tax cuts will benefit the economy while boosting the citizenís confidence in their government. "We hope the government package will be well understood by the public and they will regain confidence soon," he said. Although the course of recovery may not take place right away, some feel the economy will get worse before it gets better. Andrew Robertson, Ph.D candidate of the department of the history of science at Harvard University, said he thought the recent Big Bang in the finance markets would make a difference. "Neither Japan nor the rest of the world seem to believe that any substantive change is being made in the way of the Japanese government and bureaucracy works," he said.     The Japanese nation as a whole has been affected by the troubled economy. Robertson, who was a professor at the University of Tokyo, said that business is slow, people are reluctant to spend and banks collapse. "The country, however, is not disintegrating," he said. "Itís just fraying a little at the edges." Yumi Hirahara, marketing communications consultant in Japan said that the retail business has also been affected. "Customers will only buy low-priced items now," Hirahara said. "More customers just look and not buy. The average sale per customer has declined." James E. Roberson, associate professor of anthropology at Musashino Womenís University in Japan, said he believes that things are not going to improve in Japan any time soon. "The government doesnít seem willing or able to initiate programs that excite people here or abroad," he said. "Nor do they provide people with any of the confidence necessary to make investments and take risks." Roberson said that new high school and college graduates are no longer sure if they will be able to get or keep their jobs. "People are much less confident that Japan has a bright future and that it has answers to the social and economic woes of the world," he said. Hirahara said that the people are already disillusioned with all the options offered to them now because many of them have suffered huge losses due to the economy. "The issue at large is not lowering taxes or lowering interest rates," Hirahara said. "Itís to give consumers something that they feel is worth investing in." According to Robertson, the Japanese economy will recover. "Their financial markets are suffering," he said. "But, the manufacturing basis of their economic strength remains." Murabayashi said he firmly believes the citizenís faith will be restored in their government. "At this moment, a black cloud is covering the sun," he said. "I am confident the sun will rise again in the near future."	.