JAPAN TIMES
 

Japan’s economy expanded at a better-than-estimated 0.7 percent annualized pace in the April-June quarter, according to revised data showing private demand was stronger than earlier reported.

An earlier estimate put annualized growth in the quarter at 0.2 percent.
The economy grew at a 2.1 percent annualized pace in the previous quarter from January to March.

The latest data showed business investment fell by a smaller margin than reported in August, while consumer spending was higher. But both remain much slower than hoped for, given the government’s targets for growth.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed an extra set of stimulus measures to help prop up the economy and spur consumer and corporate spending, which are seen as crucial to sustaining growth.

The economy grew for the second straight quarter, but the pace of expansion slowed despite Abe’s efforts to promote his Abenomics policy mix, aimed at stimulating consumption and business investment by boosting public spending and making financial conditions more accommodative.

The world’s third-biggest economy may remain in a lull amid lingering fears about the outlook for the global economy following the British exit vote. The yen, regarded as a relatively safe asset, is expected to stay firm, hampering a recovery in exports, a key driver of economic growth, analysts said.

Although the Bank of Japan decided to ease its monetary grip further in July and Cabinet approved last month a stimulus package worth around ¥28 trillion ($275.42 trillion), the effects of the policy measures are unlikely to emerge within this year, they added.