It’s tomorrow in Japan from where I am. I am on the west coast of the U.S. It is late night 12/3. But, it’s already tomorrow 12/4 in Japan. And Japan is in recession. Here are six signs that it’s so.

1. Profits at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. Nippon Yusen KK and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. will slump more than previously thought in fiscal 2009 – lackluster freight charges for the shipment of iron ore and other resources are blamed.

2. Japan’s government is considering abandoning fiscal restraint and spending Y10 trillion ($100B) to stimulate Japan’s economy.

3. Japanese corporate capital spending for the July-September quarter shrank 13.0 percent from what it was a year earlier on an all-industry basis.

4. Cash on hand at for Japanese listed companies decreased in April-September, the first half of the current fiscal year amid slowing economic activity. It is the first drop for the period in six years.

5. Japanese firms’ pretax profits dove 22.4 percent in the quarter – July-September from the same time period a year earlier. It is the biggest drop in seven years.

6. Oita Canon Inc., a manufacturing unit of Canon Inc. will reduce the number of contract workers by about 1,100 people before next spring.

And it’s only 4pm.

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