Japan`s economy, the second largest in the world, slipped into recession in the third quarter as companies slashed investment to weather the financial crisis, official data showed Monday.

Japan`s economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the three months to September, after shrinking 0.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to a preliminary estimate released by the Cabinet Office.

A recession is usually defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.