Japan's economy contracts as energy prices soar
ABC News
Japan’s economy contracted at a worse than expected annual rate of 1% in the last quarter, as rising prices and COVID-19 restrictions sapped spending and investment
TOKYO -- Japan’s economy shrank at a worse than expected annual rate of 1% in the first quarter, as rising prices and COVID-19 restrictions sapped spending and investment, according to data released Wednesday.
Japan’s real gross domestic product, or GDP, the sum of the value of a nation’s products and services, contracted 0.2% in January-March compared to the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said.
The world’s third-largest economy managed modest growth in the final quarter of last year, but the economy sank the quarter before that.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed already high energy prices still higher, a big minus for resource-poor Japan. The Japanese yen has weakened, trading at about 130 yen to the dollar, making imports relatively more expensive.
