WASHINGTON, March 19 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The International Monetary Fund on Thursday revised downward sharply its outlook for Japan's real economic growth rate in 2009 to minus 5.8 percent from minus 2.6 percent estimated in late January.
In an update to its World Economic Outlook, the Washington-based lender also forecast economic growth of minus 0.2 percent for Japan in the third consecutive annual contraction since 2008.
