ASSESSMENTS
Japan: A Looming Recession
Aug 6, 2008 | 18:14 GMT
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images
Summary
Japan's economy has likely fallen into recession, Shigeru Sugihara, chief business statistician in the Cabinet said Aug. 6. The country's complete dependence on the outside world for energy and essential goods, combined with its debt-addicted fiscal policies and an impending demographic crisis could spell economic disaster — or at least a protracted and deep slump.