Japanese GDP Crashes

See it a picture. It's from Econopicdata.blogspot.com. (His site is really worth bookmarking, I think. The site is on the list of my links in the left column under "Market/Economic News, Analysis, Commentary").


My first reaction was "What the hell are they importing?" Then I realized that it's a percentage contribution, not the absolute amount. Phew.

Then I went to read the Japanese reaction to their own numbers.

"Kaoru Yosano, Japan's Finance Minister who is also in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy, told the reporters on May 20 that the worst may be over for the Japanese economy. [Green shoot everywhere...] He cautioned "For the Japanese economy to get back on the growth track, it will need a lot of effort, time, and [better economic] performance from other nations", indicating the recovery may be limited." [translation by me from Nikkei.net May 20 article]

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