Japan GDP to Shrink This Year, Coronavirus Cases Rise Across The Country

Japan’s government expects the economy will contract this year as activity slowly recovers after it was hit by the coronavirus crisis, shile forecasting a return to growth next year, according to Reuters, citing government resources.

One of the sources told Reuters that “the government sees GDP shrinking in the current fiscal year through March 2021, but it would be smaller than a 5% contraction.”

“In a recent Reuters poll, expected the economy to shrink 5.3% for the year as a whole, the fastest pace in decades, but believe it has begun rebounding in the current quarter and would grow 3.3% in 2021.”

On the COVID-19 front, Tokyo reported 250 new cases today, but the number of new virus cases in Osaka surpassed 200 for the first time, according to NHK.

Yesterday, Japan reported 981 new cases, the biggest record since the pandemic began in the country.