The data for January - March 2019 economic growth in Japan is here:

The headline is a good beat, but the details are not so impressive at all.

  • trade did well, but exports fell while imports collapsed
  • consumer spending down
  • capex down
  • inventories up
  • government spending up

The WSJ recap. In brief:

  • The growth data showed some impact from the trade frictions in Japan, the world's third-largest economy after the U.S. and China.
  • Capital expenditures declined an annualized 1.2%.
  • Public investment rose an annualized 6.2% in the quarter following a decline the previous quarter. That helped overcome the slowdown in private investment.

Link here

Reuters quote an analyst :

  • The GDP surprised for the better
  • that's the main driver behind the stock market's gains
  • But the GDP data "is not encouraging, with private consumption and capex declining and exports rising only because weak domestic demand depressed imports"
  • Monday's market advance "is purely technical, few are buying because they think the economy is doing well."

Link