Japan's GDP jumps in March quarter


Japan's economic outlook is brighter following the release of March quarter GDP figures

Staff and wires

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.4 percent in real terms in the first three months of 2002 from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said Friday.

That is an annualized rise of 5.7 percent, and follows three straight quarters of economic contraction.

The data gives a boost to hopes that the world's second-largest economy is recovering from one of its deepest postwar recessions.

A recent pickup in exports of motor vehicles and consumer electronic products to the U.S. market is adding to this view.

Ministers in the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi have been saying for some weeks that the Japanese economy has reached the bottom and is on the point of recovery.

But some analysts have suggested that the March quarter figure may be a one-off spike, and that the sustainability of any recovery is in question (Full Story).

Better than expected

In nominal terms, January-March GDP increased 1.1 percent.

The quarter-on-quarter rise in real GDP was slightly better than economists' expectations of 1.3 percent growth, which was the median of 26 forecasts collected by Reuters news agency Wednesday.

The data showed the economy shrank 1.3 percent in the fiscal year through to the end of March. That was weaker than the government's forecast of a 1.0 percent contraction.

The forecast for the year that started on April 1 is for zero growth.

In early currency trade Friday, the yen is quoted at 124.15 to the U.S. dollar. On the stock market, the benchmark Nikkei 225 has opened lower, following Wall Street's sharp decline Thursday.