As was widely feared, the serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy has become increasingly clear. The gross domestic product in the January-March period contracted an annualized 3.4 percent from the previous quarter. One out of four listed companies reportedly sustained losses in the three-month period to March.
But we have yet to see the worst of the recession. The full-blown impact of the pandemic will come in the April-June period, when, according to a Nikkei interview of four prominent economists, the nation's economy is forecast to shrink by 20.2 percent.
The situation may even be worse in other countries. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has said the GDP will decline by as much as 40 percent in the United States in the April-June period. Just as the office predicted, the unemployment rate surged to 14.7 percent in April.