The Japanese government has downgraded its assessment¹ of the economy in the wake of the devastation² caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami³.

受上月地震和海啸的影响，日本政府降低了对今年经济形势的评估。

It said key areas of the economy, including industrial production and exports, would suffer.

It marks the first time in six months that the government has downgraded its assessment.

On Monday, the International Monetary⁴ Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for Japanese growth.

"The economy is showing weakness recently due to the influence of the Great East Japan earthquake," the Japanese government said in its monthly economic report.

Downward direction

The damage caused to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has seen a shortfall of power supplies in Japan.

That has resulted in rolling blackouts, affecting production at some of the country's biggest companies.

The government has warned of the negative impact of the power shortage.

It has cut its assessment of the country's exports, saying shipments may decline as manufacturers battle to get their production lines back to full capacity.

The Japanese economy had already been struggling to come out of the global financial crisis before the earthquake and tsunami hit the north-east coast.

Analysts⁵ say the twin natural disasters have set back（推迟，拖延） that recovery process even further.

"The condition of the economy is no longer flat or at a standstill（停止） , but rather the direction is downward," said Shigeru Sugihara, director of macroeconomic（宏观经济的） analysts at the cabinet office.