The downgrade underscores heightening uncertainty over Asia's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as darkening growth prospects for the United States, China and the euro zone economies stoke fear of a global recession. "A widening debt crisis in (emerging) economies would weigh heavily on global growth and could precipitate a global recession. The world's second-largest economy is expected to see growth rebound to 4.4% in 2023, down 0.2 point from the IMF's forecast in July. The IMF expects Japan's economy to grow 1.7% this year, unchanged from its projection in July, and 1.6% in 2023, down 0.1 point. Japan's downgrade for 2023 reflects an expected weakening of consumption blamed on rising inflation and slow wage growth, the report said.
