TOKYO, May 19 (News On Japan) –
Japan’s GDP, or gross home product, expanded at an annualized charge of two.1% from January to March 2026, marking a second consecutive quarter of optimistic progress as exports and shopper spending supported the economic system.
Preliminary figures launched by the Cabinet Office confirmed actual GDP, which excludes the consequences of value fluctuations, rose 0.5% from the earlier three-month interval.
Domestic demand remained agency, with private consumption, which accounts for greater than half of GDP, rising 0.3% for a fifth consecutive quarter of progress. Spending on eating out and clothes elevated, though car purchases weighed on general consumption.
Capital funding additionally remained optimistic, rising 0.3% for a second straight quarter of progress.
On the exterior demand aspect, exports elevated 1.7%, additionally marking a second consecutive quarterly acquire, supported by robust shipments of vehicles and different merchandise to the United States.
Japan’s economic system has skilled a unstable restoration over the previous a number of years, formed by the pandemic rebound, inflation, provide chain disruptions, weak yen pressures, and extra just lately power and geopolitical dangers.
After contracting sharply in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Japan’s economic system returned to progress in 2021 and 2022, supported by reopening demand and exports. Annual GDP progress reached round 1.9% in 2023 earlier than slowing in 2024 as inflation weighed on family spending.
Quarterly progress has remained uneven over the previous two years. Japan recorded optimistic progress within the second quarter of 2025 earlier than slipping into contraction in the course of the July-September quarter, damage by weaker exports and slowing demand. The economic system then returned to progress within the October-December quarter of 2025, with revised knowledge exhibiting a 0.3% quarterly enhance.
The January-March quarter of 2026 marked the second consecutive quarter of growth, with GDP rising 0.5% from the earlier quarter, or an annualized 2.1%. Strong exports to the United States, significantly vehicles, helped help progress, whereas shopper spending and enterprise funding additionally remained optimistic.
Despite the stronger-than-expected begin to 2026, economists stay cautious in regards to the outlook. Rising oil costs linked to instability within the Middle East and issues over power provides by means of the Strait of Hormuz are anticipated to position strain on Japan’s economic system in coming months. Japan stays closely depending on imported power, making it weak to exterior shocks.
The OECD at the moment forecasts Japan’s general financial progress to sluggish to beneath 1% yearly over the following two years, though regular wage progress, home demand, and company funding are anticipated to proceed supporting the economic system.
Source: テレ東BIZ