Japan's economy in the January-March period shrank an annualized real 3.4 percent from the previous quarter due to the global coronavirus pandemic, a significant contraction for the second consecutive quarter that pushes the world's third-largest economy into recession, government data showed Monday.

周一，日本政府的数据显示，受全球新冠疫情影响，日本一月份至三月份的经济环比下降3.4个百分点，这个全球第三大经济体连续第二季度大幅萎缩，陷入衰退。

The data showed gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country, corresponded to a 0.9 percent decrease on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis.

数据表明，按季节性调整的季度计算，国内生产总值，也就是国内生产的产品和服务的总价值，下降了0.9%。

Japan now meets the technical definition of a recession of at least two consecutive quarters of negative GDP -- following a 7.3 percent slump during October-December -- for the first time since the fourth quarter in 2015.

日本十月份至十二月份的GDP就曾下降7.3%，现在符合至少连续两个季度GDP出现负增长的技术定义，这还是2015年第四季度以来首次出现这一情况。

The economy is also highly likely to contract for a third consecutive quarter in the April-June period, probably falling at its fastest pace in the postwar years due to the impact of the virus, with some private-sector e-conomists forecasting annualized contraction of over 20 percent in those three months.

经济衰退也很有可能延续到四月份至六月份的第三连续季度，受病毒影响可能会是战后下降速度最快的时期。一些私营机构经济学家预测那三个月的年收缩率会超过20%。

The January-March outcome was, however, better than the average forecast of a 5.0 percent annualized real contraction made by private-sector e-conomists polled by Kyodo News.

但是一月份至三月份的下降率要好于《共同通讯社》统计的私营机构经济学家此前预测的平均5%的年化实际收缩率。

Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, told a press conference that GDP in the April-June period will "get more serious" than the January-March figure, and the economy will "slow down to a considerable extent for the time being."

西村康稔是负责经济和财政政策的大臣，他在新闻发布会上说四月份至六月份的GDP情况将比一月份至三月份更严重，经济将“暂时大幅度放缓”。