The Japanese economy already fell in contraction in Q4 of 2019, which was a bit strange since the global economy picked up in that quarter due to the prospects of the Phase One deal between the US and China. Now, we are seeing another contraction in Q1 of this year, which was expected with the shut-down and everything. So, this makes the recession in Japan official now and many expect the Q2 to be worse, so things are looking particularly bad for Japan.

• Q1 GDP of 2020 -0.9% vs -1.1% expected
• Q4 of 2019 stood at -1.8%
• Annualized GDP Q1 at -3.4% vs -4.5% expected
• Annualized GDP Q4 of 2019 -7.1%
• Q1 GDP nominal -0.8% vs -1.3% expected
• Q4 of 2019 GDP nominal -1.5%
• Q1 GDP deflator YoY (an inflation indication) 0.9% vs expected 0.7%
• Q4 of 2019 GDP deflator YoY 1.3%%, revised to 1.2%
• Q1 private consumption -0.7% vs -1.6% expected
• Q4 of 2019 private consumption -2.8%
• Business spending -0.5% (capex) vs -1.5% expected
• Q4 of 2019 prior business spending -4.6%

• 2 consecutive quarters of contraction for the Japanese economy, the economy moves into recession for the first time since H2 of 2015
• Q1 exports had their biggest quarterly decline since the 2nd quarter of 2011, down by 6%