Japan’s economy is expanding moderately, with a virtuous cycle from income to spending operating. The real GDP growth rate continued to represent positive growth for eight consecutive quarters on a quarter-on-quarter basis through the October-December quarter of 2017, and thereafter registered minus 0.6 percent for the January-March quarter of 2018 on an annualized quarter-on-quarter basis.
While the contribution of net exports on real GDP growth has remained slightly positive, that of domestic private demand has been relatively weak. With regard to the outlook, Japan’s economy is likely to continue its moderate expansion.