Recession threatens Japan's tax rise

Japan's economy sank into recession in the second and third quarters, fuelling opposition leader Shinzo Abe's calls for more stimulus and highlighting the risk that weak growth will derail a planned sales tax rise.

Gross domestic product shrank an annualised 3.5 per cent in the three months to September 30, the Cabinet Office's second estimate showed in Tokyo yesterday, matching a preliminary reading.

The government revised downwards the previous quarter's figure to a 0.1 per cent contraction, matching the textbook definition of a recession.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1102443/recession-threatens-japans-tax-rise