Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) suffered a record shrinkage of 15.2 percent in the first quarter of this year amid sluggish external and domestic demand due to the global recession.
According to statistics issued by the Japanese Cabinet Office on May 20, the country’s GDP contracted 4.0 percent from the previous quarter.
The shrinkage was attributed to low demand on auto, electronics and other items amid the global recession.
Exports in the reviewed period were down 26 percent while corporate capital spending fell at a record pace of 10.4 percent.
Besides, consumer spending, accounting for 55 percent of the country’s GDP, reduced 1.1 percent.
In fiscal 2008 ending March 31, GDP saw the first yearly decline in seven years, down by a record 3.5 percent in real terms./.