After the autumn of 2008, against a backdrop of the economic downturn in the United States and Europe, Japan’s exports and production plunged, and Japan’s economy suffered an unprecedented large fall. From the spring of 2009, Japan’s exports and production have been increasing due to the progress in inventory adjustments at home and abroad as well as the effects of economic stimulus measures.
Moreover, thanks to the increase in public investment and recovery in private consumption, the flash estimate of Japan’s real GDP in the July–September quarter increased by an annualized quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 4.8 percent, which was an increase for the second consecutive quarter. The increase in private demand was deemed being largely supported by various policy measures.