Passage 3
Retail sales and consumer prices had record declines in Japan last year, the govemment said, indicating that weak personal spending continues to cripple the world's second-largest economy.
Sales fell at the nation's retailers for an unprecedented fourth straight year, with sales dropping 1.7% to 132.87 trillion yen (I.132 trillion), the Ministry of Economy. Trade and Industry announced.
Reflecting that trend, Japan's consumer prices took their biggest tumble, falling 0.7% to 101.5 points from 102.2 points.
Retail sales have been sliding since 1997, when the Japanese government raised the sales tax to 5% from 3% in an ill-timed effort to rebuild its finances
Though the economy recently has shown signs of pulling out of its deepest slump in decades, consumers worried about job and wage security remain reluctant to spend.
That was forced Japen’s retailers and other consumer industries to tower prices and move away from their time-honored practics of focusing on good servics alone to kesp consarmers satisfed.
The Japanese government has tried to give deflation positive image, stressing that failirg prices are partially a result of companies becoming more productive as once-regulated markets have been thrown open to competition.
But one of the nation's senior economic policy makers rejected that view at a recent news conference.
"Japan is the only major country to have falling consumer prices, "said Taro Aso, minister for econmic and fiscal policy and information technology, was quoted as saying by Dow Jones
“But can't' imagine that Japan is the nation to be experiencing productivity increases.
Weighing most heavily on Japan's consumer prices last year were declines in the prices of food and household items such as furniture, the Ministry of Public Management,Home Affairs and Posts and Telecommunications said in its preliminary report.
Other government statistics suggested that there are more economic challenges ahead for Japan, even though the conservative coalition government has spent record amounts of taxpayers'money trying to boost the economy.
Toky-area consumer prices closely watehed by analysts as an indicator of trends for the rest of the country, fell 0.4% in January trom a year earlier, marking a record 17 consecative morths of decline.
Falling rents and fierce competition among retailers and providers of telecommunica: services were primarily responsible for lower prices, the government said.
In the final analysis, continued lower prices in Japan are caused by ____
A、productivity increases
B、fierce competition among retailers and providers
C、the wrong policies of the conservative coalition government
D、insufficient demand for products or services on the part of consumers
【正确答案】：D
【名师解析】:根据文章内容，日本的零售销售和消费者价格去年出现了创纪录的下降，这表明个人消费的疲软继续阻碍着世界第二大经济体的发展。自1997年日本政府将销售税从3%提高到5%以来，零售销售一直在下滑。尽管经济最近显示出摆脱数十年来最深衰退的迹象，但担心工作和工资安全的消费者仍然不愿意消费。这迫使日本的零售商和其他消费行业降低价格，不再仅仅依靠优质服务来吸引消费者。文章提到，尽管日本政府试图给通货紧缩一个积极的形象，强调价格下降部分是公司变得更有生产力的结果，但一位高级经济政策制定者在新闻发布会上拒绝了这种观点。他指出，日本是唯一一个消费者价格下降的主要国家，并且他无法想象日本正在经历生产力增长。此外，去年对日本消费者价格影响最大的是食品和家具等家庭用品价格的下降。政府的统计数据还表明，尽管保守联合政府已经花费了创纪录的纳税人资金试图刺激经济，但日本仍面临更多的经济挑战。东京地区的消费者价格被分析师密切观察，作为全国趋势的指标，在1月份同比下降了0.4%，创下了连续17个月下降的纪录。政府表示，租金下降和零售商及电信服务提供商之间的激烈竞争是价格下降的主要原因。
综合上述信息，持续的低价是由消费者对产品或服务的需求不足所导致的，这与选项D相符。文章中提到消费者担心工作和工资安全，因此不愿意消费，这直接导致了需求不足。同时，尽管有生产力的提高和激烈的市场竞争，但这些因素并没有足以抵消消费者需求的不足。因此，正确答案是D，即消费者对产品或服务的需求不足。
