Japan's consumers stop spending

Shoppers are simply refusing to spend

Consumers in Japan are feeling the pinch of the country's fourth recession in 10 years, and the battered economy is showing the strain, according to the Bank of Japan.

In its monthly assessment of the economic situation, the BoJ downgraded its forecasts for growth - or rather contraction - this year, for the sixth straight month.

It now believes the economy will shrink 0.9% in the full year to March.

Earlier in November, the International Monetary Fund cut its own estimates of Japanese growth for the year to December to the same figure.

Jobs evaporate

The problem is that with investment bottoming out, companies overburdened with debt are getting