Japanese exports and manufacturing output plunge in January

Japan's economy is looking very sick at the moment.

On Wednesday, a report showed that exports plunged in January. From AFP/CNA:

Japan's recession woes deepened as a record plunge in exports added to fears on Wednesday that Asia's largest economy is becoming one of the biggest victims of the global crisis...

The trade deficit ballooned to an unprecedented 952.6 billion yen (9.9 billion dollars) in January as exports plunged 45.7 per cent from a year earlier, the finance ministry reported.

Today, there was more bad news. Bloomberg reports:

Japan’s manufacturers cut production by a record 10 percent in January and household spending plunged, adding to evidence that the economy in its worst recession in 60 years.

The month-on-month decline in factory output exceeded December’s record decline of 9.8 percent, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. Household spending fell 5.9 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop in more than two years...

The ratio of positions available to each applicant slid the most since 1992 in January, dropping to 0.67 from 0.73, the Labor Ministry said today. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1 percent from 4.3 percent as housewives got part- time work to supplement declining incomes, said Koji Katoh, the statistics bureau’s director of labor statistics...

Consumer prices failed to rise in January for the first time in more than a year as households cut spending, the statistics bureau said today, indicating deflation may resurface in the world’s second-largest economy.