Japan's economy shrinks beyond expectation in first quarter amid drop in private consumption
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The economy of Japan shrank significantly in the first quarter due to a drop in private consumption amid the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19. The slow rollout of the vaccine has forced the government to use lockdown as a measure to curb the spread of the pandemic. Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics, said, "it will take until the end of the year for output to return to pre-virus levels."