Japan's Gross Domestic Product fell 3.8% in the first three months of the year, an official government estimates shows. Preliminary findings saw the number actually come in slightly more pessimistic, at a whopping -4.0%. Details show that the global slowdown continues to weigh on the Asian economy. Export demand declined -26.0%, as expected after falling on 14.7% in the final three months of 2008 and actually rising 1.0% in the period prior.
Across the board, investments continued to dwindle. Capital investment alone fell 8.9% in this recent period as opposed to a decline of 6.4% and 4.2% in the final two quarters of 2008, respectively. Investments in new residential home development fell 5.4% after actually rising in the final 6 months of the previous year. Overly-optimistic investments in these residential properties may bode negatively for those who participated. Those who tied their money into such ventures may now be seeing a residential community averse to purchases of new homes. Unless these were primarily apartment investments, these investments could continue to bring the economy southward as lost money fails to be transferred to productive capital needs.
