 TOKYO — Japan ’s economy shrank at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, tipping the country into a recession, as the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disrupted production and prompted consumers to cut back on spending. The figures also indicated Japan’s second consecutive quarter of economic contraction, leading the country, by most assessments, into its second recession in less than three years. “Japan’s economy is expected to remain weak for the time being,” Kaoru Yosano, Japan’s economics minister, told reporters after the figures were announced Thursday morning. Supply constraints were easing, and reconstruction demand would most likely be felt later this year, Mr. Yosano said. "The economy has the strength to bounce back," Mr Yosano said. also suggest that underlying momentum wasn’t as robust as widely thought.” 
 
 The data, released by the Cabinet Office in Japan, showed that the country’s gross domestic product had shrunk 0.9 percent in the first quarter, compared with the previous three months. The disaster hit an economy already weakened by years of deflation and depressed consumer spending, which made it reliant on exports for growth. Japan sank into a recession during the global financial crisis, but had emerged from it in 2009. "Judging by the drop in retail sales and household expenditures over March, consumption should be one of the greater contributors to negative growth in the first quarter," said Ms Fink. Japan's economy has now contracted for two quarters in a row, the generally accepted definition of a recession. The country's central bank begins its two-day meeting on Thursday to discuss its monetary policy.
– More misery for Japan: The triple disasters that struck the country in March sent the country's economy sliding into its second recession in three years, according to the latest government figures. The earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis disrupted production and caused a collapse in consumer spending, reports the BBC. Japan's economy shrunk at an annual rate of 3.7% in the first quarter of this year, a drop almost double what economists had predicted. Analysts say reconstruction demand is likely to spur growth later in the year, but things are expected to get worse before they get better, the New York Times notes. Companies struggling with energy shortages are having a hard time restoring damaged production and supply lines. Japan estimates that the total cost of the disasters will top $300 billion.