Japan's economic outlook still iffy despite contraction that's smaller than expected

Tokyo

JAPAN'S economy shrank at a rate slightly less than initially feared in the final quarter of last year. Its gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by an annualised 1.1 per cent quarter on quarter, rather than by an estimated 1.4 per cent, the Japanese Cabinet Office said on Tuesday.

However, private consumption, which accounts for 60 per cent of GDP, fell faster than expected.

Analysts have suggested that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will probably in…