Japan’s economy shrank at an annualised pace of 1.6% between April and June as exports slumped and consumers cut back spending, adding pressure on prime minister Shinzo Abe to step up his policy drive to lift the economy out of decades of deflation.

Japan’s industrial production rose for the third straight month in June as the world’s third biggest economy stages a recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The yen fell from historic highs today after the Group of Seven major industrialised nations promised coordinated intervention in currency markets to support Japan's recovery from a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's unemployment rate edged up to 5.6% in December, the fourth successive month of record high joblessness.