Asia's economic slowdown has proved unexpectedly sharp so far. Japan's GDP contracted by over 3 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the final quarter of last year, marking the third consecutive quarterly fall in output, and exported goods dropped by 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 from the same time last year. Taiwan's and Korea's falls in output were deeper still, with output declining in both countries by over 5 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the fourth quarter (over 20 per cent annualised). China's growth slowed to 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 relative to a year earlier, well below the Government's target of 8 per cent to maintain employment.