The Japanese economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the fourth quarter of last year and fell behind Germany.
The Japanese government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in October to December last year, while Japanese Cabinet Office data showed that real GDP grew 1.9 percent for the whole year.
The Japanese economy contracted 2.9 percent from July to September last year. Two straight quarters of contraction are considered an indicator an economy is in a technical recession.
Photo: AFP
Japanese economy was the second-largest until 2010, when it was overtaken by Chinise economy. Japan’s nominal GDP totaled US$4.2 trillion last year, while Germany’s was US$4.4 trillion or US$4.5 trillion, depending on the currency conversion.
A weaker yen was a key factor in the drop to fourth place, since comparisons of nominal GDP are in US dollar terms.
However, Japan’s relative weakness also reflects a decline in its population and lagging productivity, economists said.
Real GDP is a measure of the value of a nation’s products and services. The annual rate measures what would have happened if the quarterly rate lasted a year.
Japan was historically touted as “an economic miracle,” rising from the ashes of World War II to become the second-largest economy after the US. It kept that going through the 1970s and 1980s.
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