JAPAN - A major wholesaler held a party Tuesday, but few champagne corks were flying.

"We traders just moaned to each other that sales are flat," the president of a food company based in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, said about the atmosphere there.

Regarding the parties campaigning for Sunday's House of Representatives election, the president said, "I hope they make their views on economic recovery clear."

The manifestos of all the parties running in the lower house election include various measures to aid struggling small and midsize businesses.

While the government is boasting that its economic stimulus package has led to the bottoming out of the economic downturn, such small and midsize firms see things differently.

They are facing extreme difficulties with their cash flow and are struggling to maintain current workforce levels.

Owners of these companies are not experiencing any indications that the economy is bouncing back and are combing through the policies of each party in search of promises of help.

Fears of a 'second dip'

Some small and midsize companies may have come up for air after once being besieged with cash-flow problems, but they still have deep concerns.

With demand still sluggish and sales down, owners worry there could be a "second dip" once the effect of the government's stimulus package has worn off.

To compound matters, many are now faced with the immediate prospect of having to start paying back loans they took out to help them through the crisis.

The auto parts industry has been forced to greatly scale back production, and many firms are unable to expand their horizons.

"New capital investment to prevent technology becoming obsolete and the hiring of staff are key to our survival," said Yutaka Hamanaka, managing director of the Japan Metal Stamping Association. "But we can't embark on such a course in the current situation."