Recent Developments in Japan's Economy Based on the aforementioned developments in overseas economies, let me now move on to economic activity and prices in Japan. Japan's economy has picked up with economic activity resuming, although it has remained in a severe situation due to the impact of COVID-19 at home and abroad.
In the April-June quarter of 2020 -- the period most affected by the spread of COVID-19 as the state of emergency was in place -- the real GDP growth rate registered the largest-ever decline since 1980, from when comparable data are available, marking minus 8.2 percent on a quarter-onquarter basis; however, the growth rate for the July-September quarter turned positive as economic activity resumed at home and abroad (Chart 2).