Business

Japan Exports Down but Slowly Recover amid Pandemic Damage

By Yuri Kageyama
October 19, 2020|JST
Tokyo – Japan's exports fell at a slower pace in September in a sign that trade damage from the
coronavirus pandemic is easing, according to Finance Ministry data released Monday.
The report showed Japan's exports in September declined by 4.9%, better than the nearly 15% drop
in August. The nation's imports fell 17.2% overall, compared with 20.8% in August.
Exports to China jumped 14% while shipments to the U.S. inched up 0.7% in another possible sign of
a gradual rebound. By sector, computer exports to the world surged nearly 45%.
Japan's export-reliant economy has sunk into recession, with three straight quarters of contraction
through June, as the outbreak slammed business activity and stifled trade.
But a recovery in China, where COVID-19 emerged late last year, and recoveries in some other Asian
countries are helping Japan regain momentum.
Junichi Makino, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities, noted that auto exports were recovering as
global economies rebounded, especially in Europe. He said exports overall had recovered nearly to
what it had been before the pandemic.
The ministry data showed transportation equipment in general, including vehicles, motorcycles, and
planes, was still declining, down 7% compared to a year ago.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who took office a month ago, left Sunday for Vietnam, where virus
cases are low, and Indonesia, to drum up business and trade.
His predecessor, Shinzo Abe, had tried to sustain economic growth with his "Abenomics" package of
programs based on zero interest rates and curtailing deflation.
Suga, also from the governing Liberal Democratic Party, is expected to continue those policies.
Source: Kageyama, Y. (2020, October 19). Japan exports down but slowly recover amid pandemic damage. Japan.
Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://japantoday.com/category/business/japan-exports-down-but-slowly-recovers-
amid-pandemic-damage
News Writing Activity 2
Collect the needed information from the article, Japan
Exports Down but Slowly Recover amid Pandemic Damage by Yuri
Kageyama, and write it in the graphic organizer
(from www.allkidsnetwrok.com) below that answers
the following: news headline, who was involved,
what happened, where, when, how, and why did it
happened.
News Writing Activity 3
Let us have another set! Provide data from Japan
Exports Down but Slowly Recover amid Pandemic Damage written
by Yuri Kageyama and write it in the graphic
organizer (from www.allkidsnetwrok.com) below
that answers the following: summary, most
important fact(s), personal response, new
vocabularies I learned, and rate the headline.
Graphical Devices in Expository Texts

Graphical devices are planning tools and visual representations of information and
concepts in which writers use in collecting and organizing evidence. Instinctively, we
learn in pictures; as such, the graphical device is a more distinctive arrangement for
processing information than recording information exclusively in words. Moreso,
graphical devices use visual images and words, more effective tools for learning for a
wide variety of learners, like English as Second Language (ESL) learners and students
with special needs.
Graphic organizers, as illustrated by Drapeau (1998), can be used to enhance students’
thinking skills by encouraging brainstorming, generating new ideas, connecting parts to the
whole, drawing sequence, analyzing causes and effects...etc. These are exactly important
traits of economics students to make sense out of economic phenomena and to make
effective decisions about economic issues (CDC, 1989).
Prawat (1991) reminds us that thinking skills are most effectively taught within a subject
matter context. This allows students to use the skills in a meaningful context and to
achieve deeper learning of the subject matter.

Graphic organizers have a number of attributes that enhance students’ thinking skills.
They allow students to make connections among pieces of information and make
information easier to recall. Furthermore, they also allow students to break information into
manageable chunks, so that they can easily see the relationships among the separate ideas
(Drapeau, 1998).
Students who use graphic organizers in the classroom develop their ability to use them
independently as study tools for note taking, planning, presentation, and review (Dunston,
1992). In other words, graphic organizers are beneficial to students’ learning inside and
beyond classrooms (Drapeau, 1998).
1. Physical Map
Physical maps are designed to show the natural
landscape features of Earth. They are best known
for showing topography, either by colors or as
shaded relief. Physical maps often have a green to
brown to gray color scheme for showing the
elevation of the land. Darker greens are used for
near-sea-level elevations, with the color grading into
tans and browns as elevations increase. The color
gradient often terminates in shades of gray for the
highest elevations.
2. Political Map
"Political maps" are among the most widely used
reference maps. They are mounted on the walls of
classrooms throughout the world. They show the
geographic boundaries between governmental units
such as countries, states, and counties. They show
roads, cities and major water features such as
oceans, rivers and lakes.
Political maps help people understand the
geography of the world. They are usually the first
type of map that students are introduced to in
school. They are also known as "reference maps"
because people refer to them again and again as
they have questions.
3. Picto Chart
A Pictograph is a way of showing data using images.
4. Pie Chart
It is a special chart that uses “pie slices” to show
relative sizes of data.
5. Line Graph
A line graph, also known as a line chart, is a type of
chart used to visualize the value of something over
time. For example, a finance department may plot
the change in the amount of cash the company has
on hand over time.
The line graph consists of a horizontal x-axis and a
vertical y-axis. Most line graphs only deal with
positive number values, so these axes typically
intersect near the bottom of the y-axis and the left
end of the x-axis. The point at which the axes
intersect is always
(0, 0).
6. Bar Graph
A bar graph (bar chart) is a graphical display of data
using bars of different heights. It is a really good
way to show relative sizes: we can see which types of
movie are most liked, and which are least liked, at a
glance.
7. Collecting Grid
Collecting grid records information gathered from
many different sources. It is useful for preparing
research papers or factual reports. Students are
thus trained to see patterns of information and are
able to generate hypotheses.
8. Columns and Rows
Rows and Columns both are the fundamental part of
any table whether, it is a spreadsheet or matrix on
the basis of, to store data. These are a vital
geometric arrangement which divides any data set
on the basis of attributes.
The term ‘row’, represent an arrangement, wherein
people, objects, numbers or any other things lie next
to each other, facing the same way, i.e. in a
horizontal line. It goes from left to right, like the row
of a school classroom, or seats of a movie theatre.
A column is an arrangement of facts, figures, words,
etc., are placed one after another in a sequence. In a
table, columns are separated from each other by
lines which enhance its readability and
attractiveness. It helps in making the comparison
between two columns by placing them side by side.
Adapted from: Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Genre study: Teaching
with fiction and nonfiction books. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Here’s a news story that was written in the summer
of 2000.