The world’s third biggest economy contracted by 1.6% in the fourth quarter and now faces a further hit to tourism and exports.
The Japanese economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than five years at the end of 2019 – putting it on the brink of recession as the impact of the coronavirus begins to bite.
Official figures showed gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.6% in the last quarter, equivalent to an annual pace of 6.3%.
The sharp contraction in the world’s third biggest economy was blamed on a sales tax hitting consumer and business spending as well as the impact of a major typhoon.
Analysts say the coronavirus outbreak could take a further toll.
If GDP falls for a second successive quarter the economy will be in recession.Taro Saito, executive research fellow at NLI Research Institute, said: “There’s a pretty good chance the economy will suffer another contraction in January-March.
“The virus will mainly hit inbound tourism and exports, but could also weigh on domestic so consumption quite a lot. (SKY NEWS)
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