February 18, 2020

Anna Murray 

Japan's economy, the third-biggest economy in the world, shrank at the fastest rate in 5 years since 2014 as Japan’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) most recently reportedly fell by 6.3% during the 4th quarter from October to December in 2019.

During the 4th quarter, Japanese consumer spending fell 2.9% after Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the sales tax from 8% to 10% since October in 2019. The largest shrink in GDP was a 7.4% fall in 2014 after Japan’s government took its consumption tax-hike.

There are concerns Japan’s economy may fall into recession amid the prolonged US-China trade war. Moreover, Japan was hit hard by typhoon Hagibis in October of 2019. The coronavirus outbreak will also worsen consumer spending, a major contributing factor in Japan’s economy, in the 1st quarter of 2020.

Photo:Webshot.