日本经济总的来说仍处于通货紧缩阶段 ,虽然在 2 0 0 2年上半年稍有趋稳迹象 ,但整年的国内需求仍很不旺 ,投资没有达到预期的复苏。日本工业气体的主要市场仍不景气 ,日本半导体设备协会透露 ,与 2 0 0 1年同期相比芯片需求量下降44 %;2 0 0 2上半年粗钢产量平稳 ,仅增长 0 2 Japan’s economy, as a whole, is still deflationary. Although it showed some signs of stabilization in the first half of 2002, domestic demand remained weak throughout the year and investment failed to reach the expected recovery. Japan’s major industrial gas market is still sluggish. Japan Semiconductor Equipment Association disclosed that the demand for chips dropped by 44% compared with the same period in 2001. The output of crude steel in the first half of 2002 was stable and only increased by 0.2%