Japan slipped into its fourth technical recession in five years between July and September – spotlighting how the government’s “Abenomics” policies have struggled to drag the economy out of chronic stagnation. Official data on Monday showed the world’s third-largest economy shrank an annual 0.8 percent in July-September after a 0.7 percent contraction in the prior quarter, putting it firmly into recession – two consecutive quarters of declines. Monday’s data highlights the need, analysts say, for structural reform aimed at breaking through supply-side constraints including labor shortages in a fast-ageing society, which suffered from chronic deflation for more than 15 years.