Economic Descent

RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2008 A man walks past a sign showing the evolution of man in a business district in downtown Tokyo November 17, 2008. Japan slid into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter as exports crumbled, and some analysts said an escalation in the global financial crisis may have put the economy on course for its longest ever contraction. REUTERS/Michael Caronna (JAPAN)

As someone perpetually frustrated over the lack of variety and creativity in business images, this jumped out, especially as a counterpoint to all the charts and graphs I’ve been seeing lately.

The photo — a Reuters News Picture of the Year — was taken last month in Tokyo’s downtown business district. The photographer paired it with a caption describing how Japan had entered its first recession in seven years, brought on by the crumbling of third-quarter exports.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to read this, but it did trouble me in terms of the potential length of a recovery.

(image: Michael Caronna/Reuters. November 17, 2008.)

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Michael Shaw
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