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 (B.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.
Before the recession, the practice of Japan's retailers and consumer industries was ____
A、to focus on good service alone to keep consumers satisfied
B、to provide consumers with the best products to keep them satisfied
C、to maintain high prices of the products provided to consumers
D、to supply the best quality products at the lowest possible prices
【正确答案】：A
【名师解析】:根据文章内容，日本零售商和消费者产业在经济衰退之前的做法是专注于提供良好的服务以保持消费者满意。文章中提到，由于消费者对工作和工资安全的担忧，他们不愿意消费，这迫使日本的零售商和其他消费者产业降低价格，并开始从仅关注良好服务的做法转变，以保持消费者的满意。因此，正确答案是选项A：to focus on good service alone to keep consumers satisfied。
