Japan's economic slowdown deepens

Tokyo

GROWING signs of an economic slowdown in Japan, revealed in data published on Tuesday, were greeted with news that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government might opt to announce fresh fiscal stimulus for the world's third largest economy before long.

Japanese corporate profits declined on a quarterly basis for the first time in four years during the final three months of 2015, the data showed.

Corporate capital spending also declined, and household spending fell faster than expected in January.

These factors are likely to result in a down…