Japan's Economy Now in Recession

Japan's economy is officially in a recession.

Official data released Monday show the world's second-largest economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the three months ending in September.

This marks the second quarter in a row that Japan's economy has experienced a decline - there was a 0.9 percent contraction between April and June.

The world financial crisis has wreaked havoc on the world's major economies. Japan is now in its first recession since 2001.

Recession is most often defined as two consecutive three-month periods of negative economic growth.

Last week, the European Union said 15 nations that use the euro as their currency are officially in a recession. And many experts believe the U.S. economy is headed into recession - it contracted by 0.3 percent July and September.

The leaders of the so-called G-20 industrialized and developing countries resolved at a summit in Washington Saturday to take whatever further actions are necessary to stabilize the global financial system.