Japanese economic growth surges on strong exports and tourism
Japan’s economic growth jumped at an annual pace of 6% in the April-June period, marking the third straight quarter of growth as exports and inbound tourism recovered
TOKYO — Japan’s economic growth jumped at an annual pace of 6% in the April-June period, marking the third straight quarter of growth as exports and inbound tourism recovered.
Real gross domestic product, which measures the sum value of a nation’s products and services, grew 1.5% in the fiscal first quarter for the world’s third largest economy, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
The annualized pace shows what the growth would have been if what was marked during the quarter had continued for a year. The rate outpaced what analysts had forecast at 3.1% growth.
The latest quarter showed the strongest growth since October-December 2020, when Japan’s GDP grew 1.9% on-quarter, and 7.9% annualized rate.
Exports grew 3.2% in the three months through June, according to the government. Auto exports have grown lately, after a period in which they had stalled on the shortage of computer chips and other parts. Production was crimped because of social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also contributing to quarterly growth was the return of tourism, as social restrictions eased, and borders opened to inbound travel. Tourism revenue contributes to export growth in such GDP data.
On the negative side, private consumption stalled, declining 0.5% compared to the previous quarter. Public demand, which includes government spending, rose 0.3%.
Some analysts think signs of recovery will prompt Japan’s central bank to take action on a policy change and move toward higher interest rates.
The Bank of Japan has taken a super-easy monetary policy for years, at zero or
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