The government downgraded its monthly assessment of the economy Friday, saying the pace of recovery has slowed in the face of rapidly slackening economic growth in the U.S. The downward revision was the first in three months.
"The pace of economic recovery has become more moderate," the Cabinet Office said in a monthly report. The report singles out the recent economic slowdown in the U.S. as the main cause of its downgrading of the Japanese economy and predicts that the future course of the U.S. economy could sway the fitful recovery in Japan.
Specifically, the Cabinet Office described slower U.S. growth as having weakened Japanese exports, leading to only a moderate increase in Japanese industrial production.