Japanese economy downgraded as "worsening" for first time in 7 years: government report
22/12/2008 16:05
The Japanese government today assessed its economy as "worsening" for the
first time in seven years as capital spending, corporate profits and job
opportunities continued to shrink rapidly amid the global economic
meltdown.
In its monthly economic report, the cabinet office downgraded its
assessment of the economy for the third month in a row, lowering its judgment
from the evaluation that "the economy has weakened further" in November.
From
the short-term perspective, the economy is likely to continue worsening for the
time being, and the employment situation may be worsening further due to the
rapid fall in production, said the report.
"Attention should be given to the
risks that the economy could become severer due to the worsening global
financial crisis," it said the report.
Between June 2001 and February 2002,
the cabinet office evaluated the nation's economy as "worsening" or "continue to
worsen" when Japan was hard hit by the burst of the IT bubble.
At a press
conference following the release of the report, Economic and Fiscal Policy
Minister Kaoru Yosano said there could hardly be an upswing in the near future
as there are mounting uncertainties abroad.
Xinhua
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