Almost half of Japanese firms saw their output and sales slide last month because of the coronavirus outbreak, with two-thirds anticipating the impact from the pandemic to last several months or longer, a Reuters poll showed, portending a big blow to an economy teetering on the edge of recession.
The spreading epidemic has hammered global stock markets and disrupted trade, supply chains and tourism, stoking fears of a global downturn and piling pressure on governments and central banks to deploy stimulus.
A prolonged impact on corporate Japan could hamper Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Abenomics aim of generating a self-sustaining growth cycle led by private-sector investment and spending.