Japan exports hit sharpest drop since 2009 as pandemic drags global demand

April records showed that Japan’s exports dropped the sharpest since the 2009 financial crisis. Exports declined as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged worldwide demand for cars, industrial materials, and other products, pushing the world’s third-biggest economy further into recession.

Year-on-year records from the Ministry of Finance showed that the country’s exports declined 21.9% in April. The downturn followed as U.S.-bound exports fell 37.8% while car parts demand dropped by 65.8%.

Though the weak figures came out sharper than the historic drop back in 2009, it still placed lower than the 22.7% outlook forecasted by economists.

The frail reading followed as authorities weighed options between the urgent need to contain the virus and salvage the struggling parts of the economy, with the threat of a second wave of infections only adding to the economic challenge that the country currently faces.