CORONAVIRUS | Japan's economy slipped into recession for the first time in four and a half years, GDP data showed on Monday, putting the nation on course for its deepest postwar slump as the coronavirus crisis takes a heavy toll on businesses and consumers.

The world's third-largest economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter in the three months to March, intensifying the challenge for policymakers battling a once-in-a-century pandemic that has already caused widespread disruptions.

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted an annualised 3.4 percent in the first quarter as private consumption, capital expenditure and exports fell, preliminary official data showed, following a revised 7.3 decline in...