Japan Unexpectedly Enters Recession as Abe Weighs Tax

``Gross domestic product shrank an annualized 1.6 percent in the three months through September, a second straight drop... "No part of Japan's economy looks encouraging," said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, who had the weakest forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, with a 0.8% growth estimate for real GDP. "Today's data will leave another traumatic memory for Japanese politicians about sales tax hikes."''