Japan’s economy will enter a recession due to a slowdown in export growth, according to the expectations of economists at Capital Economics, reports CNBC.

“We believe the Japanese economy will enter a recession next year,” said Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics.

He also said that the recession would be “mainly driven by a fall in exports, and also the greater caution that usually occurs when exports start to decline.”

Japan recently reported a larger-than-expected trade deficit of $15 billion for October.

Exports rose 25.3%, slower than the 28.9% increase in September.

At the same time, imports in October increased by 53.5% year-on-year, which is 45% more than in the previous month.

Japan is due to release monthly trade data on December 15.

Separately, Japan will release revised third-quarter GDP on Thursday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected an annual contraction of 1.1 percent between July and September, after the economy contracted 1.2 percent in the previous quarter.

(Source: news.ro)

That would mean Japan’s economy is already headed for what is usually classified as a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

However, the National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is widespread throughout the economy and lasts for more than a few months.”