Japan’s 4th Recession in a Decade

The Japanese economy has gone into its fourth recession in 10 years, as data showing GDP contracted 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

GDP dropped from the previous quarter due to slow consumer spending and booming imports. GDP decreased 0.5% from the previous year.

“There are three quarters now of negative growth, so Japan is really struggling in this recovery,” said Lehman Brothers Japan chief economist Paul Sheard.

According to a Business Standard article,

“Japan also officially revised down data for the July-September quarter to a contraction of 0.3 per cent, reversing a previously stated 0.1 per cent increase, and revised GDP growth in the April-June quarter to a 0.2 per cent drop.

The government had flagged in November it would revise the data after it said it would recalculate GDP using a new methodology in line with international standards.”

“The [GDP] results came in at the lower end of expectations, but we shouldn’t be too pessimistic about the current state and the outlook for the economy,” said Dai-ichi Life Research Institute senior economist Naoki Iizuka.

Many economists are remaining optimistic based on the fact that structural changes have taken place in Japan.

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