Japan economy minister Nishimura on the severe state of Japan's economy

With Japan falling into a well-telegraphed technical economic recession, Japan’s economy is expected to slump significantly due to sluggish overseas demand blamed on the coronavirus pandemic, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Monday.

Both domestic and external demand show Japan’s economy is in a severe state,

– Nishimura told a news conference after the release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.

• Japan Q1 GDP marks 2nd straight quarter of contraction

Key comments

• Hard to say now when japan's economy will return to levels pre-coronavirus.
• Must re-open business operations gradually and in several steps, as doing so immediately could worsen spread of coronavirus.
• Impact of coronavirus on consumption began to be felt in February, was huge in March.
• Consumption of food, game consoles, alcoholic beverages and daily necessities like face masks rose, while spending on services such as travel, restaurants fell.

USD/JPY holding in bullish territory

• USD/JPY remains positive above 107.00 after Japan GDP, Fed’s Powell