
TOKYO -- The Japanese economy shrank by an annualized 26.3% on the year in the April-June quarter, according to projections from economists, which would mark the worst contraction in the postwar era amid the fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Real gross domestic product is seen swinging back to positive territory in the current quarter ending September, with 23 private-sector economists projecting 11.9% growth on average. But the pace of recovery will not restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels in the short term.