Reuters.com reports Japan's economy shrank 3.3% in the fourth quarter, the biggest drop since 1974 and further confirmation that the world's second-biggest economy is in a severe recession as the global economic crisis deepens. It was a bigger fall than the 3.1% contraction expected by economists and marked the third consecutive quarter of contraction -- the first time this has happened in Japan in seven years. Japan's gross domestic product figure translated into an annualized fall of 12.7%, exceeding a consensus market forecast for a 11.7% contraction, govt data showed.
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Financial Times reports Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa resigned on Tuesday after being forced to deny he was drunk at a G7 news conference, dealing a fresh blow to unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso in an election year. Aso said Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano would succeed Nakagawa, an appointment that would spell little change for policymaking. Yosano, a linchpin of Aso's embattled administration, is a fiscal hawk who has become more flexible about spending as the country's recession has deepened.
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