Japan's economy shows weakness, govt slashes view for 3rd month

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's government downgraded its view of the economy for the third month in October as worries about Europe's debt crisis and China's slowdown intensified, adding risk to the growth outlook.

Slackening overseas demand and thus weak exports prompted the government to lower its assessment on factory output for the third straight month.

"The economic recovery has had a weak tone recently due to a slowdown in the global economy, although some steadiness is still shown," the Cabinet Office said in its latest monthly report on Friday.

The Cabinet office downgrade followed the Bank of Japan's warning last week that economic activity was levelling off, offering a slightly bleaker view from the previous month.