TOKYO, Japan — Japan's economy suffered its worst quarterly contraction in more than five years at the end of 2019 after a tax hike and typhoons, according to official data on Monday. The nation's gross domestic product in the three months to December shrank 1.6 percent from the previous quarter, before the novel coronavirus outbreak in China hit Japan. Related Stories China virus sends shockwaves through Asia tourist industryThe drop was much worse than the one-percent contraction economists had expected. Business expenditure on factories and equipment decreased 3.7 percent despite investment getting a boost from cashless-payment systems that allow consumers to alleviate the consumption tax hike. Economists are now carefully watching what impact the new virus outbreak will have on the world's third-largest economy, as it hit Japanese companies' manufacturing activities and tourism.

Source: Philippine Star February 17, 2020 02:15 UTC