Japan's economy turns toward contraction

TOKYO, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The Japanese economy shows signs it has gone from slow to shrinking, a turn that may mark the end of its longest growth run since World War II, analysts said.

Japan's Cabinet Office monthly report issued Thursday said, "the economy is weakening recently," the Kyodo News reported Friday.

The word "recovery," included in the report since January 2004, doesn't appear in the document, the news service reported.

The word "lull," appearing in recent reports, has also been dropped from the report.

The report points to exports and employment as "in a weak tone," and says, "industrial production is decreasing modestly."

''There is the possibility that the Japanese economy has entered a contraction phase,'' said a Cabinet Office official.

The Japanese government is to release gross domestic product figures next week with economists predicting the economy may have contracted in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, the news service reported.