Japan's economy has been "getting worse rapidly" in April due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the government said Thursday, downgrading its key assessment for the second straight month.
It is the first time since May 2009, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, that the Cabinet Office has used the term "worse" or "worsening" in its monthly report to describe the health of the Japanese economy.
"The Japanese economy is getting worse rapidly in an extremely severe situation," the report said, revising the assessments of industrial output, private consumption and another four of the 11 main components.