TOKYO (MNI) – Amid the stronger-than-expected global economic
recovery, the Japanese government is considering revising up its
forecast for economic growth to around 2% for the current fiscal year
from its earlier estimate of 1.4%, the Nikkei reported on Friday.
The latest GDP data showed that the economy grew a real 1.2% in
January-March from the previous quarter, or an annualized rate of 5.0%.
GDP figures for this fiscal year will be pushed up by the positive
carryover from fiscal 2009, when the economy contracted by 2.0% from a
year before.
In fiscal 2010, Japan can count on an increase in exports and a
turnaround in consumption and capital spending due in part to growth in
emerging nations.
And based on the strong numbers recorded in the January-March
quarter, the government sees a distinct possibility of GDP for the
entire fiscal year topping 2% in real terms.
For fiscal 2011, the government anticipates GDP growth above 1%.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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