Japan's economy

Expectations for the preliminary numbers were for a quarterly contractionof 0.3%.Weaker domestic demand together with slower investment in housing contributed to the poor numbers.On an annualised basis, the economy contracted 1.4% during the period.Expectations had been for an annualised contraction of 1.2%.'Good shape'Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to revive the economy - dubbed Abenomics - was introduced after his December 2013 election win.The aim has been to combat deflation, which Japan has struggled with for nearly two decades, as well as boost demand and investment.But the the world's third-biggest economy has been facing problems.In the three months to September, according to revised numbers, itavoideda technical recession. But it has been in recession four times since the global financial crisis.However, analysts said Monday's numbers should be viewed in context and that the outlook wasn't all bad."A single negative growth number should not be over-interpreted because the economy remains in rather good shape and continues to get strong policy support," said economist Martin Schulz."The outlook has certainly deteriorated, however, along with global trends. Growth forecasts will almost certainly bedown-adjusted again, and the pressure on the government to come forward withmore tangible growth-oriented reforms will increase."