Japanese economy's worst decline since 1974

Japanese economy had shrunken at an annualized 12.7% pace, worst since 1974. Though economists had forecast the Japanese GDP to fall by only 3.1% on the quarter, it fell by 3.3 % in the final three months of 2008 for the third consecutive quarter. That happened because demand for the Asian country’s flagship goods such as cars and electronics took a dive on slowing global consumption.

Sales of vehicles manufactured in Japan throughout January fell by largest amount in at least 29 years. In the 12 months through January 31 car sales fell 27.9% and it looked surprisingly when the export portion of the metric fell by 13.9% in the period alone. 

As well as demand for Japanese goods decreased spending on entrepreneurial projects fell excessively: non-residential investments fell for the fourth consecutive quarter – by 5.3% in the last.

Slowing global demand for the country’s goods and entrepreneurial projects investment decrease continued hampering Japan’s ability to get trough.