Japan's economy has dropped to the fourth largest in the world. It fell behind Germany after its economy shrank in the last quarter of 2023.
日本经济已跌至世界第四位。在2023年最后一个季度经济萎缩后，它掉到了德国之后。
The Japanese government reported Thursday the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in October to December.
日本政府星期四报告说，去年10月至12月，日本经济以0.4%的年化速度萎缩。
It shrunk 2.9 percent from July to September. Two straight quarters of shrinkage are considered a sign that an economy is in a recession.
从7月到9月，这一数字萎缩了2.9%。连续两个季度的萎缩被认为是经济陷入衰退的迹象。
Real gross domestic product is a measure of the value of a nation's products and services. The yearly rate measures what would have happened if the quarterly rate lasted a year.
实际国内生产总值是衡量一个国家产品和服务价值的指标。年化比率衡量的是如果季度比率持续一年会发生什么。
Japan's economy was the second largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by China's. It had been the third-largest economy until it fell behind Germany.
日本经济在2010年之前一直是第二大经济体，后来被中国赶超。在落后于德国之前，日本一直是第三大经济体。
Japan's nominal GDP totaled $4.2 trillion last year. Germany's was between $4.4 and $4.5 trillion.
日本去年的名义国内生产总值为4.2万亿美元。德国为4.4至4.5万亿美元。
Real GDP takes into account inflation, while nominal GDP does not.
实际国内生产总值考虑了通货膨胀，而名义国内生产总值则没有。
A weaker Japanese yen was a major reason for the drop to fourth place. But economists say the drop is also due to a decline in its population and slowing productivity and competitiveness.
日元走弱是日本跌至第四位的主要原因。但经济学家表示，排名下降也是由于日本人口减少、生产力和竞争力下降。
In the past, Japan was described as a "an economic miracle." After much of the country was destroyed in World War II, it became the second-largest economy after the United States. It continued to see strong growth in the 1970s and 1980s. But in the last 30 years, the economy has grown only moderately at times.
过去，日本被描述为“经济奇迹”。在日本大部分地区在二战中被摧毁后，它成为仅次于美国的第二大经济体。它在上世纪七八十年代继续保持强劲增长。但在过去的30年里，日本经济有时只是勉强增长。
Both the Japanese and German economies are powered by strong small- and medium-size businesses with strong productivity.
日本和德国的经济都由具有强大生产力的强势中小型企业提供动力。
Germany's economy has gotten very strong in the past 20 years. It has led worldwide markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery. It has sold so much to the rest of the world that half its economy ran on exports. But Germany's economy also shrank in the last quarter, by 0.3 percent.
德国经济在过去20年里变得非常强劲。它引领了全球高端产品市场，如豪华汽车和工业机械。它向世界其他地区的出口如此之多，以至于其一半的经济都依赖出口。但德国经济在上一季度也出现了0.3%的萎缩。
Japan's population has been shrinking and aging for many years. It has few foreign residents. Germany's population has grown to nearly 85 million. Immigration helped to make up for a low birth rate in Germany.
多年来，日本人口一直在减少和老龄化。它几乎没有外国居民。德国的人口已经增长到近8500万。移民帮助弥补了德国的低出生率。
Immigration is one way to solve Japan's labor shortage problem. But the country has been somewhat unaccepting of foreign labor.
移民是解决日本劳动力短缺问题的一种方式。但这个国家一直有点不接受外国劳动力。
Another reason for Japan's slow growth is stagnating wages. People have less money to spend. At the same time, businesses have invested heavily in foreign economies instead of Japan's aging and shrinking market.
日本经济增长缓慢的另一个原因是工资停滞不前。人们可花的钱越来越少。与此同时，企业对外国经济体进行了大量投资，而不是对老龄化和萎缩的日本市场进行投资。
I'm Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)