Japan's economy in record plunge

Japan's economy has seen its worst ever quarterly performance, with GDP shrinking 4% in the first three months of 2009.

The contraction is the fourth in succession, following a 3.8% drop in October to December.

But economists are predicting modest growth in the coming months after a small rise in production in March.

The world's second biggest economy, which depends heavily on exports, has been hit hard by the global downturn.