Japan's economy shows better-than-expected growth

Tokyo, May 20: Japanese GDP expanded a better-than-expected 0.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, official data showed Monday, although analysts cautioned that the world's third-largest economy was still facing headwinds.

It was the second successive expansion for the Japanese economy after growth of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

The results defied gloomy expectations by analysts who predicted a small decline at the start of 2019, but some economists warned that signs of weakness remained beneath the positive headline figure.

"The headline figures were unexpectedly good but if you take a closer look, the data was not something we should be pleased about," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

"Rather, the data clearly showed weak points in the economy with poor consumption and corporate investment on plants and equipment," he told AFP.

Net exports contributed strongly to the latest growth figures -- but only because the fall in imports outweighed a decline in exports, according to the data from the Cabinet Office.

"There is no clear sign of a bottoming out in exports, production, and business confidence, and so I don't think we can be optimistic about the future of the economy," said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

Nevertheless, the better-than-expected figure pushed up the Tokyo stock exchange, with the main Nikkei index rising 0.74 percent at the open.

(AFP/APP)