TOKYO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government said on Thursday that the economy grew an annualized 0.7 percent in the April-June quarter in inflation-adjusted terms, marking a minor increase from its preliminary report last month.
The expansion of Japan's economy, the third-largest in the world, in real gross domestic product, corresponded to a 0.2-percent increase from the April-June period, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, although the yen's firmness and flat inflation, will make its economic malaise continue, as key economic drivers remain inert.
On Aug. 15, the government said in a preliminary report that Japan's economy grew an annualized real 0.2 percent in the reporting quarter, but despite the revised uptick, the pace of expansion still remains sluggish, market insiders noted.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to stimulate growth under numerous installments of his "Abenomics" blend of aggressive economic policy measures have fallen short, leading economists have said.
In light of this, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is now under increasing pressure to underpin the stagnant economy.
Sources close to the matter believe that the central bank may either opt to further plunge its interest rate into negative territory or expand its already massive QE program to stimulate the economy, or both, following a policy meeting and rate review later this month.
On Monday, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank remained poised to take "drastic measures" if deemed necessary and had numerous policy options at hand, despite critics suggesting the bank was running out of ammunition for its arsenal of easing options.
The Cabinet Office also said Monday that corporate capital spending, a major component of GDP and indicator of the state of production and exports dropped 0.1 percent in the quarter, from an initial reading of 0.4 percent, while consumer spending, which accounts for 60 percent of Japan's GDP, remained flat at 0.2 percent growth, following the revision.
In the face of a persistently firm yen, which hammers exporters' profits and competitiveness in overseas markets, exports dropped 1.5 percent, while imports declined 0.04 percent, marginally upgraded from 0.1 percent, the Cabinet Office said.
Unadjusted for price changes, or in nominal terms, the economy grew 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the quarter, upgraded from a 0.2-percent increase in the preliminary data.
