And deflation, once entrenched, is fiercely difficult to dislodge, as Japan has found.

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Investors have little enthusiasm for well-run old Japan firms, such as Kirin Beverage, a soft-drinks maker that has not yet found a new-Japan marketing angle.

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Prices rose after Libyan gas was cut off as a result of the country's uprising and a lot of Qatari LNG has found a new destination in Japan, deprived of much of its nuclear power since the disaster at its Fukushima plant.

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