GDP shrinking, Japan, UK slip into recession

Tokyo/London, February 15

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Japan and Britain are among the Group of Seven advanced economies that have slipped into a recession. Japan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany.

The Japanese government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4% in October to December, according to Cabinet Office data on real GDP. Japan’s economy was the second largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by China’s. Japan’s nominal GDP totalled $4.2 trillion last year, while Germany’s was $4.4 trillion, or $4.5 trillion, depending on the currency conversion.

Britain’s economy fell into a recession in the second half of 2023. GDP contracted by 0.3% in the three months to December, having shrunk by 0.1% between July and September, official data showed. Britain’s economy stands just 1% higher than its level of late 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. — Agencies