Japan slides into recession

TOKYO: Japan's economy slid into a recession for the first time since 2001, the government said yesterday, as companies sharply cut back on spending in the third quarter amid the unfolding global financial crisis.

Government officials and economists warned that the world's second-largest economy could contract further in the coming months.

Japan's economy shrank at an annual pace of 0.4 percent in the July-September period after declining an annualized 3.7 percent in the second quarter. That means Japan, along with the 15-nation euro-zone, is now technically in a recession, defined as two straight quarters of contraction.