Japan's gross domestic product in real terms in the January-March 2009 period declined 4 percent from the previous quarter for an annualized contraction of 15.2 percent, a postwar record, following a revised annualized 14.4 percent drop in the October-December 2008 period. The drop in GDP shows that the Japanese economy is rapidly deteriorating in the midst of the global recession. Both the government and private sectors need to do their utmost to stem the decline.