Japan's economy shrinks at fastest pace in six years, virus clouds outlook

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy shrank at the fastest pace in six years in the December quarter as a sales tax hike and soft global demand hurt consumption and capital expenditure, keeping policymakers under pressure to prop up growth with additional stimulus.The hit to the world's third-largest economy comes amid fresh concerns about weakness in the current quarter, as the coronavirus damages output and tourism, stoking fears Japan may be on the cusp of a recession - defined as two straight..