Tokyo, 8 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s economy shrank an annualized real 0.5 percent in the January-March period, revised up from the initially reported 1.0 percent contraction on stronger personal consumption, government data showed Wednesday.
The decline in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country, corresponds to a 0.1 percent fall on a quarterly basis, the Cabinet Office said.
The latest figure was better than the average forecast of an annualized 1.2 percent contraction by seven private-sector economists polled by Kyodo News.
In the preliminary report, the government said the Japanese economy contracted as COVID-19 restrictions slowed consumption and a surge in vaccine imports offset export growth.
But private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP, was revised up to a 0.1 percent increase from a 0.03 percent contraction on a quarterly basis, contributing to the overall upgrade.
Capital expenditure fell 0.7 percent, downgraded from a 0.5 percent rise in the initial data.
Exports rose 1.1 percent, unchanged from the initial report, while imports increased 3.3 percent, downgraded from a 3.4 percent increase.
Nominal GDP, not adjusted for inflation, expanded 0.2 percent, or an annualized 0.6 percent, in the reporting quarter, revised up from an initially reported annualized 0.4 percent increase.