Japan's economy weakened significantly in the three months to June, growing by just 0.1%.
This was much lower than the expected 0.6% rise, and was due to a slowdown in export growth and consumer spending.
The weakness in Japan's economy, which is the world's fourth biggest consumer of energy, pushed down crude oil prices, and also sent gold to a seven week high, as investors sought safe haven currencies.
Between 2000 and 2008, Japan's economy grew just 5%, compared to 261% growth experienced by China.
