Japan Jan.-March GDP down 1.0% on slow consumption, growing imports

Japan's economy in the January to March period contracted a real 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 1.0 percent, as COVID-19 restrictions slowed consumption and a surge in vaccine imports offset export growth, government data showed Wednesday.Real gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation, decreased following growth of 0.9 percent in the previous quarter, according to the preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office.Still, the latest quarterly GDP decline was better than the average projection of an a…READ FULL ARTICLE