Incredible Shrinking Economy

Japan Economy Shrinks Record 15.2% as Exports, Spending Plunge

May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s economy shrank by a record last quarter as exports collapsed and consumers and businesses slashed spending, a decline that probably marked the low point in the country’s worst recession since World War II.

Gross domestic product fell an annualized 15.2 percent in the three months ended March 31, following a revised fourth- quarter drop of 14.4 percent, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The economy contracted 3.5 percent in the year ended March 31, the most since records began in 1955. Full Story