I. Economic Developments Let me start by talking about developments in Japan's economy. The economy is expanding moderately, and the real GDP growth rate for the April-June quarter registered a firm increase of 2.5 percent on an annualized basis. It is the first time in eleven years, since 2006, that it has continued to mark positive growth for six consecutive quarters (Chart 1).
Looking ahead, the economy is likely to continue its moderate expansion. Some of the recent characteristics of the economic expansion are as follows. The first feature is that the economic growth has been led by both external and domestic demand in a well-balanced manner.