阅读理解 The Japanese economy is at a standstill, Japan's government has said, as concerns about the strong yen(曰元)continue to grow．The recovery in the economy was“pausing”, the Cabinet Office said in a monthly statement． It is the most negative that the government has been about the economy in nearly two years．The rising yen and a slowdown in global demand for Japanese exports were blamed for the setback． In recent months, the government has insisted that the economy is“picking up”．But it said it now expected the economy to Femain weak for some time, with“weakening”exports a chief concern．It said shipments to Asia in particular were becoming weaker, further hitting exporters that are already suffering from the strong yen． The yen remains near a 15-year high against the US dollar, despite the financial interfer-ence(干预)in the currency markets last month for the first time in six years． Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan(菅直人)has also passed a ＄63 billion stimulus(剌激)package in an effort to protect exporters who have seen the poor exchange rate eat into their prof-its．At the close of markets in Tokyo, the yen was trading at 81.44 yen to the dollar, just off the high of 81.27 yen． “If the economy turns out as expected, we may end up describing the current situation as a soft patch,”one of die government officials said“But if it comes under further downward pressure, it could end up slipping into recession(衰退)．” | 
