--- description: A slew of unhealthy indicators dampen hopes of a recovery title: Japan's Deficit Hits Record HIgh image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f74d3b796f91177/698684aa06f2c10c2f32dc8a/470569733.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Japan's Deficit Hits Record HIgh  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 10, 2014 9:42 AM CUT  A cargo ship berthes alongside a container wharf in the port of Tokyo on February 20, 2014. A cargo ship berthes alongside a container wharf in the port of Tokyo on February 20, 2014.TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 10, 2014 9:42 AM CUT Japan’s current account deficit [swelled](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26510495 "undefined") to $15 billion in January, the largest in its recorded history. The bad news comes on the heels of another unsightly indicator, GDP growth, which officials revised from an anemic 1% in 2013 to an even more anemic 0.7%. Not even consumer spending, which was expected to rise before a new consumption tax went into effect, escaped the downward drift. Officials revised it down from 0.5% to 0.4%. The Nikkei index slid 95 points following the news of the slowdown. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26510495 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/17896/japans-deficit-hits-record-high/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/17896/japans-deficit-hits-record-high/"},"headline":"Japan's Deficit Hits Record HIgh","datePublished":"2014-03-10T09:42:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:40:22.617Z","description":"A slew of unhealthy indicators dampen hopes of a recovery","url":"https://time.com/17896/japans-deficit-hits-record-high/","keywords":["Economy","Japan","Recovery","GDP","stocks","deficit","Spending"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f74d3b796f91177/698684aa06f2c10c2f32dc8a/470569733.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f74d3b796f91177/698684aa06f2c10c2f32dc8a/470569733.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"JAPAN-ECONOMY-TRADE-DEFICIT","caption":"JAPAN-ECONOMY-TRADE-DEFICIT","creditText":"TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/17896/japans-deficit-hits-record-high/","name":"Japan's Deficit Hits Record HIgh"}}]}] ```