The Sakiyamas are the picture of everyman, Japan. Two year old Kenta is an only child. Home is a rented one bedroom apartment with a bath. His mom's only complaint is that she doesn't have the luxuries of a dryer or a dishwasher. But she loves her stove. She would like to work, but the cost of daycare is too expensive. Over breakfast, the Sakiyamas dream of buying a home, but can't afford it in the world's most expensive city. This family feels the pressure of high expenses amid Japan's slowing economy.

My husband's salary and bonuses are dropping, says Yoko Sakiyama.

But we do manage, says her husband, Makoto.

He commutes to work by car, a job that pays about 50,000 US dollars a year, the average income for tokyo. Sakiyama works for a company that supplies material to build homes. He says demand is growing in China, not in Japan.

China's economy is better right now, he says. That's one of the big differences between Japan and China.

Across town, Mrs. Sakiyama does the shopping for the day. Dinner is curry and pork soup-- they rarely eat out because of the price of food. She spends four hundred a month, cutting corners where she can. In her cart-- food made in Japan, because of high-profile food scares, Chinese imports are her last choice.

The Sakiyamas say they still live a life of plenty, even though they have to cut back more every year.

I think this is the bottom for our economy, says Sakiyama. There are bound to be better times ahead.

Japan is slipping -- it's something you feel everywhere -- from the streets to the average family. A shrinking economy, in the shadow of the rising superpower next door.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

生词汇总：

curry: 咖喱

cut corners: to do something in the easiest, cheapest or quickest way, often by ignoring rules or leaving something out 用最简捷经济的方式做事，图省事；（做事）走捷径

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