Japan's economy is expanding moderately, with the output gap maintained in excess demand and a virtuous cycle from income to spending operating (Chart 2).
Although the real GDP growth rate for the January-March quarter of 2018 registered a temporary negative figure, due mainly to weather conditions, the preliminary estimate for the April-June quarter showed clear, positive growth mainly on the back of a recovery in private consumption and acceleration in the rate of increase in business fixed investment (Chart 3).