The Japanese economy shrank by 0.7% in the first three months of the year, according to new numbers from the government on Friday. This happened because trade problems caused by the US president, Donald Trump, hurt sales to other countries and made people less sure about spending money.

The Japanese economy shrank a little bit (0.2%) from January to March, compared to the last three months of the year before. This was a surprise because experts thought it would be better. It's the first time in a year that the economy has gotten smaller. This information comes from the government.

The country's exports went down by about 2.3% compared to last year. People spent the same amount of money as before, but businesses invested 5.8% more money.

特朗普提高关税可能会对日本的大公司，特别是生产汽车的公司，带来不好的影响。这不仅会影响从日本出口的产品，还会影响从墨西哥和加拿大等国家出口的产品。政府工作人员说，因为特朗普总是改变想法，所以很难制定计划来应对。

标准普尔全球评级说，因为汽车公司在美国卖车需要不同的工厂和零件，所以他们的成本可能会增加，收入可能会减少。

The report also says that even small companies that sell things in America might be affected. This is because taxes on goods can change the world economy and what people want to buy, which can have a big effect on these companies.

日本经济不太好，因为现在老年人越来越多，年轻人越来越少，而且很多人单身，生孩子的人也少了。所以，大家不太想买东西。

日本银行这几年一直没有怎么提高利率。现在他们开始慢慢提高一点利率了。他们说，因为工资比较稳定，东西也慢慢变贵了。

The newest information shows that the economy is still weak. Because of this, the central bank will probably stop raising interest rates.

有些人认为，应该降低10%的消费税，这和一些国家的销售税差不多。这样做可以帮助人们减轻生活压力。

But until now, Shigeru Ishiba, who wants to be Prime Minister, has not said he agrees with this idea. Japan's government is having money problems because it costs a lot to take care of people.

In the last three months of 2024, the economy grew by 2.4% compared to the year before.