Japan's economy grew a better-than-expected 1.7 percent in the quarter from October through December, the best showing in more than a decade, with strong exports and corporate investments driving the growth.
The Cabinet Office figures released yesterday for Japan's GDP, the value of the nation's goods and services, were the highest since the 2.5 percent growth in the April-June 1990 period. The October-December 2003 growth would amount to an annual rate of 7 percent if it kept up for three more quarters.
PHOTO: AP
The Japanese economy has now grown for four straight quarters, after stumbling for more than a decade. Growth was 0.6 percent in January-March, 0.8 percent in April-June and 0.6 percent in July-September. It had contracted 0.1 percent in October-December 2002.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and Nikkei News had expected the economy to have risen 1.2 percent in the latest quarter.
"The growth was quite a surprise," said Junichi Makino, senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo, adding that growth was propelled by a blossoming digital gadget market both at home and abroad. "What's happening can be called an IT recovery."
In the decade following the burst of the "bubble economy," Japan slipped in and out of recession with periods of moderate recovery. But recent signs show the worst may be over, riding on exports to the US, China and the rest of Asia.
Companies here are reporting better profits and investing more in new plants and machinery, the Cabinet Office said, although consumer spending has been dragged down by deflation, the spiraling down of prices that has continued for five years.
Although yesterday's data show that deflation continues to grip the economy, there was good news on other fronts.
Exports for the quarter ended Dec. 31 grew 4.2 percent, while private sector investment surged 5.1 percent. Private consumption edged up 0.8 percent, as people snatched up liquid-crystal display TVs, game machines, video equipment and other home appliances, Yoshihiko Senoo of the Cabinet Office told reporters.
The economy grew a healthy 2.7 percent last year, marking a turnaround from the 0.4 percent contraction in 2002.
The Japanese government is forecasting GDP growth of 2 percent for the fiscal year ending March 31. Given the recent robust figures, the economy can even shrink 3.4 percent in January through March to achieve that goal.
Economy and Banking Minister Heizo Takenaka welcomed the news as surpassing expectations.
"The economy is recovering gradually but steadily based on private demand," he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique