Japan Economy Contracts for 3rd Consecutive Quarter
By JAMES BROOKE
nytimes.com
TOKYO, Friday, March 8 — Japan's economy contracted sharply in the fourth quarter of 2001, by 1.2 percent, the government reported today. It was the third consecutive quarter in which the economy shrank, the first such streak in nearly a decade. For all of 2001, the economy contracted 0.5 percent.
Most forecasters now expect Japan's economy, the world's second largest after the United States, to go on shrinking this year as well, though not so rapidly, and for growth not to resume until 2003. By contrast, the United States economy is expected to grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year, according to the Federal Reserve.
But many analysts say that a mild pickup in the economy may make itself felt in Japan toward the end of 2002, because of the American recovery and because Japanese businesses have drawn their inventories down to low levels. |
