Last year, Japan’s economy grew at a relatively healthy 3% annual rate, higher than in the United States or the European Union, owing mainly to the fiscal expansion undertaken after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. But growth in 2011 had been predicted to slow even before the earthquake.
得益于2008年雷曼兄弟破产后采取的扩张性财政政策，去年日本经济实现了相对健康的3%年增长率，高于美国和欧盟。但2011年的增长预计会比地震前更差。事实上第一季度经济较去年同期下滑了3.5%。