I. Economic Developments Current Situation of Japan's Economy Japan's economy remains susceptible to the impact of COVID-19 (Chart 1). The real GDP growth rate continued to be positive in the second half of 2020, after hitting a bottom for the  1  April-June quarter, when the rate plunged due to the impact of COVID-19.
They have continued to do so in all political debates – essentially, up to the present day. Where can you identify this? Weidmann: I recently gave an interview to the French daily newspaper “Le Monde”. Many readers responded to the substantive positioning, some positively, some negatively. However, some responded along the lines of “Why is he meddling in the political debate?