Japan economy again contracts in Q2 on weak domestic, overseas demand

Tokyo

JAPAN's economy contracted at an annual rate of 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year, according to data released on Monday. While the drop was somewhat less severe than economists in general had feared, it showed that the Japanese economy is still struggling to achieve steady and sustainable recovery.

Part of the problem lies outside of Japan, with demand from China and other Asian markets becoming increasingly weak and uncertain, but domestic consumption in Japan also remains tepid and increasingly subject to vagaries of the weather, analysts noted.