- Japan's economy shrank at an annualized pace of 1.6 percent in April-June as exports slumped and consumers cut back spending, a bad omen for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy drive to lift the economy out of decades of deflation http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/17/us-japan-economy-gdp-iduskcn0ql0vk20150817 5 comments economy