
TOKYO -- Japan's economy is expected to contract by an annualized 21.7% during the April-June quarter, its worst showing since the end of World War II, as the coronavirus crisis sends business and consumer activity into an unprecedented stall, a Nikkei survey shows
The forecast for real gross domestic product, an average of projections from 16 private-sector economists, shows Japan faring worse than during the global financial crisis of 2008-09, when GDP sank 17.8% in the worst quarter.