Japan's economy shrank during the last three months of fiscal 2000, according to government data released Monday, confirming fears that the world's second-largest economy is on the brink of another recession.

Real gross domestic product dropped 0.2 percent in the January-March quarter from the previous quarter, for an annualized drop of 0.8 percent, following 0.6 percent growth in the three months through December.

"I think the numbers speak for themselves; the economy is falling into recession," said Jesper Koll, chief economist at Merrill Lynch.