Japan economy shrinks 0.8 percent in third quarter, back in recession

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy slipped back into recession in the July-September quarter, contracting at a 0.8 percent annualised rate on weak domestic demand, government data showed on Monday. The preliminary figure for gross domestic product compared with the median estimate of a 0.2 percent contraction in a Reuters poll of economists. It followed a revised 0.7 percent fall in April-June, which was the first decline in three quarters. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy shrank 0.2 percent in the third quarter, the Cabinet Office data showed. For more background, see this PREVIEW To view the full tables, go to the Cabinet Office's website: http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/en/sna/sokuhou/sokuhou_top.html (Reporting by Leika Kihara, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)