Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) achieved the first growth in five quarters in the second quarter, indicating that the world's second largest economy has climbed out of recession.
According to a preliminary report released by the cabinet office Monday, the Japanese economy grew by an annualized 3.7 percent in real terms in the April-June period, the first rise since the third quarter of 2008 when Japan, along with the 15-nation euro-zone, sank into its first recession in seven years as the global financial crisis took a heavy toll on the world's second largest economy and curbed demand for its exports..
The expansion in GDP, which was lifted by consumer and government spending, came following a revised annualized 11.7 percent plunge in the previous quarter and a revised 13.1 percent dive in the October-December quarter of 2008.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy rose 0.9 percent in the second quarter, said the office in a preliminary report.
Meanwhile, consumer spending was up 0.8 percent quarter-on-quarter in real terms while corporate capital spending dipped 4.3 percent, according to the report.
Public investment jumped 8.1 percent, pushed by the government's fiscal stimulus packages to fight the recession, compared with a9.5 percent fall in housing investment.
The figures certainly point to the fact that Japan has emerged from the dire economic straits, but has it been really back on the track for a continued economic growth?
