Japan has emerged from a technical recession on the back of a post-Covid recovery in household spending and tourism, sending stocks to a new 33-year high in Asia’s most advanced economy.
Economists warned, however, that the strength of Japan’s recovery was modest with exports and manufacturing weak, underscoring the risks ahead if the global economy slows further.
Gross domestic product grew at an annualised rate of 1.6 per cent in the January to March quarter, compared with economists’ expectations of a 0.7 per cent gain. Japan had been in a technical recession following a 1 per cent drop and 0.1 per cent fall in the third and fourth quarters of 2022, respectively.