The Japanese economy has contracted at its fastest pace in more than 50 years amid slumping exports and consumer spending at home.The world's second-largest economy contracted by four per cent in the three months to March this year compared with the previous quarter, resulting in an annual GDP drop of 15.2 per cent, the government said on Wednesday.
The drop was the steepest since the country began recording gross domestic product (GDP) statistics in 1955 and it is the first time on record that the economy has contracted for four straight quarters.
The first quarter results released by the cabinet office were also significantly worse than other major economies such as the Euro zone's 2.5 per cent quarterly decline and the 1.6 per cent contraction in the US.
Japan went into recession in the second half of last year as consumers in key markets such as the US stopped buying its cars and electronics because of their own financial woes.
However, experts say that Asia's biggest economy is probably through the worst of the slump, with exports showing signs of having bottomed out in March.
"The first quarter will definitely be the low point for Japan. The pace of economic contraction should moderate from the second quarter onwards," Glenn Maguire, the chief Asia economist at Societe Generale, told the AFP news agency.
But prospects for a full recovery remain dim due to weak domestic demand and the fragile state of overseas markets, analysts say.
Consumer spending - which makes up more than half of the economy - fell by 1.1 per cent in the three months to March from the previous quarter.
Exports fell 26 per cent while corporate capital investment dropped 10.4 per cent.
Japan's car and electronics companies have announced massive job cuts in recent months due to the decline in exports.
The unemployment rate hit 4.8 per cent in March, the highest in more than four years and heading towards a post-war high of 5.5 per cent recorded in April 2003.
In an effort to ease the recession, the government has announced a series of stimulus packages, including a $160bn cash injection unveiled last month.
"The first quarter will definitely be the low point for Japan. The pace of economic contraction should moderate from the second quarter onwards," Glenn Maguire, the chief Asia economist at Societe Generale, told the AFP news agency.
But prospects for a full recovery remain dim due to weak domestic demand and the fragile state of overseas markets, analysts say.
Consumer spending - which makes up more than half of the economy - fell by 1.1 per cent in the three months to March from the previous quarter.
Exports fell 26 per cent while corporate capital investment dropped 10.4 per cent.
Japan's car and electronics companies have announced massive job cuts in recent months due to the decline in exports.
The unemployment rate hit 4.8 per cent in March, the highest in more than four years and heading towards a post-war high of 5.5 per cent recorded in April 2003.
In an effort to ease the recession, the government has announced a series of stimulus packages, including a $160bn cash injection unveiled last month.
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