AFP, Tokyo :
Japan’s economy grew 1.0 percent in the April-June period, notching up its sixth straight quarter of growth and its longest economic expansion in over a decade, government data showed Monday.
The growth in Japan’s GDP — 4.0 percent at an annualised rate-blew past market expectations for a 0.6 percent rise, and was well up from a 0.4 percent expansion in the first quarter, according to figures from the Cabinet Office.
The world’s number three economy has been picking up steam, mainly on the back of a surging exports including smartphones parts and memory chips, with investments linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics also giving growth a boost.
But the latest GDP figures were driven by robust domestic demand and capital spending, which offset a quarterly decline in exports.
Private consumption picked up 0.9 percent in the second quarter-individual spending accounts for more than a half of Japan’s GDP.
The labour market is tight and business confidence is high but efforts to lift inflation have fallen flat despite years of aggressive monetary easing by Japan’s central bank.
Japan’s economy grew 1.0 percent in the April-June period, notching up its sixth straight quarter of growth and its longest economic expansion in over a decade, government data showed Monday.
The growth in Japan’s GDP — 4.0 percent at an annualised rate-blew past market expectations for a 0.6 percent rise, and was well up from a 0.4 percent expansion in the first quarter, according to figures from the Cabinet Office.
The world’s number three economy has been picking up steam, mainly on the back of a surging exports including smartphones parts and memory chips, with investments linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics also giving growth a boost.
But the latest GDP figures were driven by robust domestic demand and capital spending, which offset a quarterly decline in exports.
Private consumption picked up 0.9 percent in the second quarter-individual spending accounts for more than a half of Japan’s GDP.
The labour market is tight and business confidence is high but efforts to lift inflation have fallen flat despite years of aggressive monetary easing by Japan’s central bank.
