Virus halves Japan Feb. imports from China, steepest fall since 1986

Japan's goods imports from China in February nearly halved to an 11-year low, marking the steepest fall since 1986, as the coronavirus outbreak stalled economic activity in the world's second-largest economy, Japanese government data showed Wednesday.Monthly imports plunged 47.1 percent from a year earlier to 673.35 billion yen ($6.28 billion), the lowest since 600.62 billion yen in February 2009, with the pneumonia-causing virus originating in Wuhan, central China, forcing many production bases in the country to shut down, preliminary data from the Finance Ministry showed.It was the larges…READ FULL ARTICLE