Welcome Japan to Recession

Japan has officially entered the recession after the Japanese Cabinet’s office confirmed today that the country’s economy has contracted for its second successive quarters.

Japan’s gross domestic product, GDP, has fallen by a further 0.4 percent, slipping the country into the inevitable predicament, as many analysts have predicted before. In a way, the recession announcement is not that all surprising.

The last recession hit the country in 2001. The current recession is expected to last for four miserable quarters.

Japan is the world’s second largest economy after the United States, with the country highly dependent on export industry and business investment. As the export business worldwide is suffering from the financial downfall, major companies are hit hard and instead of recording profits, they are seeing red instead. A number of small and medium companies have begun their going-out-of-business sale. Street business owners are seen on the road with microphones announcing their garage sale.

Worse is yet to be expected as major corporations are expected to announce layoffs and business closure soon.

Japan has been enjoying its longest run of economic expansion until the global credit crunch and subprime mortgage crisis in the US halted its impressive surge and started to sink its export industry.

Other countries worldwide which have entered the recession in the recent run include Singapore, Ireland, Italy and Germany.

Other posts you may want to read:

1. It’s Germany Now In Recession
2. Singapore Slumps Into Recession
3. Japan Too Is Heading For Recession
4. Singapore Out of Recession
5. Sony Announced 8,000 Job Cut
6. Singapore’s Top Civil Servants Take Salary Cut
7. 10,000 Jobs For Retrenched Malaysians
8. 4,000 Workers in Melaka to Lose Job

Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.