Japan was hit by several natural disasters over its summer, including one of the country’s worst flooding disasters in decades, an earthquake and a deadly typhoon.

The disasters disrupted factories and hit domestic spending.

Natural Disasters have made the Japanese economy totter a bit. Japan’s economy shrank in the third quarter as natural disasters hit spending and disrupted exports.

The economy contracted by about  1.2% between July and September as compared to the previous year, according to official figures.

A devastating earthquake and typhoon were among the disasters to hit Japan this year, and prompted the bigger than expected contraction.

In the meanwhile, with the US and China fighting a trade war which risks hurting global trade and growth, Japan is also affected.The US-China trade war could hit Japan particularly hard because of its important role in the global supply chain.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 1% contraction for the three months to September. Exports fell 1.8% from the previous quarter, the fastest decline in more than three years, Reuters said.

Rising trade tensions and protectionism could be a drag on future growth. Exports of car parts, electronics and industrial machinery are at risk of disruption if the trade battle escalates.

“Trade war uncertainties have begun to increase, we see some slowdown in Asia and that is gradually hitting Japan,” Kohei Iwahara, economist at Natixis Japan Securities, told the media.

  japan, southeast Asia