The economy shrank less in the first quarter than initially estimated, but the contraction was still the severest since 1955, revised data released by the government Thursday showed.
Gross domestic product fell at a 14.2 percent annualized rate in the first three months of the year, slightly better than the Cabinet Office's preliminary reading of a 15.2 percent contraction.
The economy has shrunk for four straight quarters since the April-June period last year, as exports and domestic demand have collapsed amid the worst postwar economic crisis.