Japan Gdp Shrinks Annualized 1% In Jan. - Mar.
Japan's latest GDP figures show that in the first quarter of this year, coronavirus restrictions caused the economy to shrink.
The Cabinet Office released preliminary figures on Wednesday.
The Gross Domestic Product fell from the previous three months by 0.2 percent in inflation-adjusted terms.
In annualized terms, that means a contraction of 1 percent, and marked the first negative growth in two quarters.
The pullback reflects sluggish consumer spending, which remained mostly unchanged, shrinking 0.03 percent from the previous quarter.
Consumers curtailed travel and dining out when quasi-emergency measures were in place for much of the country. Personal consumption accounts for more than half of the GDP.
Public investment, including public works spending, shrank 3.6 percent. Imports rose 3.4 percent, while exports logged an increase of 1.1 percent. But imports being larger than exports weighed on GDP growth. Corporate investment in facilities and equipment were up 0.5 percent.
The Cabinet Office also released full-year growth for fiscal 2021. GDP grew 2.1 percent in real terms, returning to the positive from the previous fiscal year, when record contraction was posted.