Japan has fallen into a recession for the first time since 2015, as the virus outbreak continues to take a heavy toll on businesses and consumer spending.

GDP shrank an annualised 3.4% in the first quarter of the year from the previous quarter, as private consumption, capital expenditure and exports fell.

And experts say the future isn’t looking good either.

“It’s near certainty the economy suffered an even deeper decline in the current quarter,” Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at the Meiji Yasuda Research Institute told Reuters.

Analysts polled by Reuters said they expect Japan's economy to shrink an annualised 22% in the current quarter - which if it happens, would be the biggest decline on record.

BBC