This was due to increased consumer spending and exports.
According to Cabinet Office data, Japan’s real GDP (or gross domestic product) grew 1.3% over the quarter before.
After measures were removed to stop the spread of coronavirus infection, growth saw a rebound. Restaurants and bars were asked to close their doors early, and large-scale events had to be cancelled or limited in attendance.
Future prospects are uncertain as restrictions have returned in many parts of Japan recently, including Tokyo. The fast-spreading Omicron variant is causing infections and death surging.
People started to travel more in the latter half of last year, with many people going out for food and shopping. Japan is also behind other developed countries when it comes to administering booster shots for vaccinations, with only 10% of the population.
The world’s third-largest economic sector grew 1.7% in 2021, its first growth in three consecutive years. This positive number is a result of a rebound after a stagnated economy that was hit by COVID-19 in 2019. Japan’s economy contracted in 2020 and 2019.
The economy contracted by 2.7% annually in the July-September quarter of 2021 and grew by 2.4% during April-June at an annual rate 2.4%.
The annual numbers illustrate how the economy would have grown, if the quarterly rate is maintained for one year.
Domestic demand increased 1.1% in the December quarter due to healthy consumer spending. Exports also increased.
Takayuki Taki, economist at SuMi TRUST said that the latest data shows a strong recovery due to increased consumer spending and an increase in capital investment. This is mainly because of the return of production, which was primarily in the auto sector.
Production was halted by a supply crunch in semiconductors. Toji stated that although production has slowed down somewhat, there are still supply constraints, which have put pressure on exports and investment.
He stated that “We expect the economy will slow down once more this quarter because of an increase in COVID-19 infection.”
