Tokyo, 15 August, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s economy in the April-June period grew a real 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 2.2 percent, on the back of recovering private consumption following the removal of coronavirus restrictions, government data showed Monday.
Real gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in a country adjusted for inflation, expanded for the third consecutive quarter following nearly flat growth in the January-March quarter, according to the preliminary report released by the Cabinet Office.
Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP, increased 1.1 percent, up from a rise of 0.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Capital investment grew 1.4 percent, following a 0.3 percent contraction in the previous quarter, according to the data.
Annualized real GDP in the latest quarter totaled 542 trillion yen ($4.1 trillion), exceeding the 540 trillion yen logged in the October-December period in 2019 before the pandemic hit Japan.
The latest quarterly GDP increase was weaker than the average projection of an annualized real 2.7 percent expansion by private sector economists.
In nominal terms, unadjusted for price changes, Japan’s economy grew 0.3 percent, or an annualized 1.1 percent, the data showed.