Japan growth slows as new PM readies stimulus

Wage hikes and temporary income tax cuts were positive factors for growth in Japan – Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks

Julien GIRAULT, Tomohiro OSAKI

Japan’s growth slowed in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seeks to jumpstart the world’s fourth-largest economy.

One of the fiercest typhoons to hit Japan in decades and a government “megaquake” warning weighed on factory production and other economic activity this summer.

That dragged on gross domestic product (GDP) and the country saw growth of 0.2 percent between July and September, according to a preliminary reading by the Cabinet Office.

The data met market expectations, but marked a slowdown from a revised 0.5 percent in the previous three months. 

Compared with the same period a year earlier GDP grew 0.9 percent, much slower than the downwardly revi