Reuters reports that Japan's exports fell the most since the 2009 global financial crisis in April as the coronavirus pandemic slammed world demand for cars, industrial materials and other goods, likely pushing the world's third-largest economy deeper into recession.

The ugly trade numbers come as policymakers seek to balance virus containment measures against the need to revive battered parts of the economy, with the risk of a second wave of infections only complicating this challenge.

Ministry of Finance (MOF) data on Thursday showed Japan's exports fell 21.9% in April year-on-year as U.S.-bound shipments slumped 37.8%, the fastest decline since 2009, with car exports there plunging 65.8%.

The fall in overall shipments was the biggest since October 2009 during the global financial crisis, but slightly less than a 22.7% decrease seen by economists in a Reuters poll. Exports fell 11.7% in March.

Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, fell 4.1% in the year to April, due to slumping demand for chemical materials, car parts and medicines.

Shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of Japanese exports, declined 11.4%, and exports to the European Union fell 28.0%.