Japan follows France and Germany out of recession

After last week’s unexpected positive growth in the German and French economies, Japan has now followed suit and recorded its own hike in GDP.

Despite four consecutive quarter-on-quarter contractions, Japan’s economy, which is the word’s second largest, has now grown by 0.9 percent.

It means the country is officially out of recession, but can the recovery be sustained?

Analysts say the rise is due to a huge stimulus package including one-off payments and subsidies for energy-efficient cars. These will eventually have to end.

The Bank of Japan is cautious. Japan has an export-led economy so any long term growth depends on an improvement in world demand.

But for now it is much needed good news for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party which is trailing in opinion polls ahead of a general election at the end of this month.

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tags: economic growth, Financial Crisis, Japan