Japanese economy shrinks in fourth quarter of 2008

By Xinhua,

Tokyo : Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2008 shrank at an annualized 12.7 percent, the steepest fall in about 35 years, according to official data released Monday.

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The contraction is considered the steepest since the recorded 3.4 percent, or an annualized 13.1 percent, in the first quarter of 1974.

The Cabinet Office said earlier that Japan’s GDP fell for the third straight quarter for the first time in about seven years.