Japan braces for 'worst slump in 50 years'

The news comes as Japan's government prepares to present a 15.4tr yen, (£109bn) economic stimulus package to parliament, the BBC reports. If projections for the 2009 fiscal year are proved correct, it will be the worst since Tokyo began measuring growth in 1955. The Japanese economy declined by approximately 3.1% in 2008 and finance minister Kaoru Yosano believes Japan is vulnerable to fresh turmoil overseas. Yosano says: "Exports have plunged much harder than our expectation." Government estimates of the decline have been radically revised due to rapidly changing negative economic ...