Customers examine Japanese-made word processors at a shop in the Akihabara district of Tokyo , where computer and electronic shops are centered April 3. Amid the deteriorating Japanese economy, personal computer shops and PC makers are suffering from sluggish sales. The Chairman of Japan's electronics giant Sony, Norio Ohga stunned foreign reporters on April 2 by saying that the nation's economy was on the brink of collapse. Ohga's comments followed a survey by Japan's central bank showing confidence among Japanese companies plunged in late March.

JAPAN ECONOMY