Japan’s economy grew at an annualised 1.4 per cent in the second quarter against analysts’ expectations of a 2.3 per cent rise, as weak exports and softer consumer spending offset strong public investment in the tsunami-stricken region of Tohoku.
The data represented a sharp drop from the first quarter, in which growth was an annualised 5.5 per cent as Japanese consumers shook off their post-tsunami restraint.
Analysts said the world’s third-largest economy had struggled to adjust to a strengthening yen and faltering growth in key export partners such as China and the EU. During the quarter the yen gained 4 per cent against the US dollar. A surplus of imports over exports trimmed 0.1 percentage points from overall output.