JAPAN’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY GAINS SPEED

Japan’s economy grew 3 percent in 2020’s fourth quarter compared to the third, surging past expectations of a 2.3-percent expansion, figures from the government’s Cabinet Office show.
The GDP grew in both domestic demand and export markets.
The quarter’s GDP was just 1 percent below that of a year earlier, signaling a strong rebound from last year’s economic shutdown.
Capital investment grew 4.5 percent, the first rise in three quarters; consumer spending climbed 2.2 percent on government incentives for travel, analysts said.
Because the government re-imposed a lockdown last month as COVID cases surged, economic growth this quarter is likely to sag again, analysts expect.
However, the weakness will be less than during the previous shutdown because current restrictions are less harsh, demand for Japanese exports is rising, and businesses are beginning to make capital investments once again, Naohiko Baba, Goldman Sachs’ chief economist in Tokyo, said to the Financial Times.
TRENDPOST: Japan’s economy shrank 4.8 percent overall in 2020. While it is bouncing back, as with other nations, recovery will be temporary since much of what has been destroyed by the COVID War will not be recovered for years to come.