It’s more of the same old news for Japan. The global economy continues to savage the country.

From Market Watch:

Japanese data sets released Wednesday suggested the global recession continues to take a toll, showing up in both lagging and leading indicators.

Japan’s current-account surplus slipped 34.2% in May from that month last year, as the trade suplus fell 22.1%, data from the Ministry of Finance said, painting a picture of tough times for the month for Japan’s trade-oriented economy.

Separate data from the Cabinet Office suggested the effects will continue in months to come, with companies delaying outlays on new plants and equipment. Core machinery orders, which are considered a leading indicator of capital expenditures, fell 3.0% in May from April.

The machinery-order data were much worse than the consensus expectation for a 2.0% rise, according to economists polled by Nikkei and Dow Jones Newswires.

In April, core machinery orders also missed expectations, falling an even wider 5.4% on month.

Japan seems to be totally dependent upon a return of the world’s economy to some sort of increased consumption. The country truly appears unable to curb its economic decline. Here’s hoping they aren’t the proverbial canary in the coal mine.