Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami pushed the economy much further into recession than expected, raising doubts about the prospects for the world’s third-largest economy.
According to preliminary data released on Thursday, gross domestic product fell 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the previous three months. That was nearly twice the decline forecast by economists.
Kaoru Yosano, minister for economics and fiscal policy, said that the March 11 disaster had been the main reason for the fall in output, and insisted that growth would soon return. “The Japanese economy has a great deal of resiliency,” Mr Yosano said.
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