Japan GDP:

Article Source:

 https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230214/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's economy grew at an annualized real 0.6 percent in October-December, helped by a sustained recovery in private consumption in the aftermath of antivirus curbs, but the first expansion in two quarters was far weaker than expected, government data showed Tuesday.

Adjusted for inflation, real gross domestic product increased 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Cabinet Office's preliminary data. GDP is the measure of the total goods and services produced in a country.

The average market forecast was for a 1.7 percent annualized expansion in a Kyodo News survey.

Ideas:

The Japanese economy might have reached it point of not growing that much anymore, as advanced or mature economies don't seem to grow that much.

But even at 1 percent growth for the third largest economy in the world it still growth but not what the stock market or investors are looking for.

While not being negative it might be wise to see that Japan might not grow above the 2 percent range ever again.

There might be pockets of growth here or there but not overall for the Japanese economy.

Article:

Accelerating inflation in Japan has already begun to dent consumer sentiment with more price hikes expected in the current quarter to March. But pent-up demand for services has supported consumption as the economy has emerged from coronavirus restrictions.

Private consumption, which makes up over half of the economy, gained 0.5 percent as consumers increasingly dined out and traveled, while demand for durable goods was also strong. It was the third straight quarter of increase.

Capital spending fell 0.5 percent, after two straight quarters of strong gains, as semiconductor-related investments decreased. Companies ramped up investment in equipment to manufacture chips, used in a wide range of products from electronics to cars, to cope with robust demand.

Ideas:

Consumer sentiment has never been a strong point of the Japanese economy compared to the US. 

And now add in constant inflation and constant energy prices and the passing on of costs by companies to consumers it not a good situation for consumer sentiment or consumer spending in the Japanese economy.

Capital spending while strong for 2 quarters decreased somewhat which is not really a big deal as capital spending might not be a constant monthly activity, as companies decide when t spend and might not do it monthly.

But at the same time, an economy is very complex and not all sectors will see equal growth.

Article:

Public investment dipped 0.5 percent.

Nominal GDP grew 1.3 percent, or at an annualized rate of 5.2 percent.

The GDP data confirmed the economy remained on a recovery track after taking a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But aggressive rate hikes in the United States and Europe to fight inflation have raised recession fears, boding ill for the Japanese economy which has its growth driven primarily by exports. Slower growth is also expected for China, which was held back by the fallout from the nation's stringent "zero-COVID" policy.

Ideas:

Isn't about time to get past the pandemic as an excuse for low economic growth. The Japanese economy is never going to be a strong and robust economy like the 80's or other patches of growth here or there.

Consumer spending in Japan is never going to reach the level of spending in the US as the US and Japan are different consume spending cultures. 

Yes young people in both countries might spend like each other but the older generations in Japan, which keep getting bigger, tends to spend less and less as they age, which means less spending in the Japanese economy overall and less economic growth overall.

Have a nice day and be safe!