Japan to cut this fiscal year's economic growth forecast: Nikkei

THE Japanese government is expected to cut its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2022 to about 2 per cent, down sharply from a projection of 3.2 per cent in January, the Nikkei business daily said on Friday (Jul 22).

It comes after Thursday’s quarterly forecasts from the Bank of Japan that downgraded expectations for growth in the year to March 2023 to 2.4 per cent, from 2.9 per cent 3 months ago.

The downgrade largely reflects weakness in private consumption as a renewed spike in Covid-19 infections clouds the outlook, the paper said.

Rising uncertainty over the global economy, blamed on Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s strict Covid-19 lockdowns, also dampen prospects for a strong, sustained rebound in Japan’s export-reliant economy. REUTERS