Japan's economy posts negative growth for first time in six quarters

VTV.vn - Japan's GDP fell 1.8% in the third quarter, as the export sector was affected by US tariffs, government data showed.

International container port in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Japan's economy contracted 1.8% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, marking its first contraction in six quarters, government data showed on November 17, as exports were hit by US tariffs.

The decline was lower than the market's median estimate of a 2.5% contraction in a Reuters poll. Japan's economy had grown an adjusted 2.3% in the April-June quarter of 2025. Compared to the previous quarter, the economy contracted 0.4% in the third quarter of 2025, lower than the median forecast of a 0.6% decline.

Exports are the main drag, as the impact of higher US tariffs grows. Automakers have seen export volumes fall sharply, although they have absorbed the tariff costs largely by reducing export prices.

Residential investment also weighed on growth as tighter energy efficiency regulations introduced in April came into effect.

Separately, private consumption, which accounts for more than half of gross domestic product (GDP), rose just 0.1 percent, down from a 0.4 percent gain in the second quarter, suggesting high food costs are keeping households from spending.

While the data could complicate the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) plans to raise interest rates, the decline was not as severe as economists had predicted, with experts calling it a temporary setback rather than the start of a recession.

Kazutaka Maeda, an economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute, attributed the decline largely to temporary factors such as housing investment affected by regulatory changes. Overall, the economy lacks strong fundamental momentum, but is still likely to recover gradually over the next year or two, he added.

Many private sector analysts expect Japan's economic growth momentum to recover in the fourth quarter of 2025. A poll by the Japan Center for Economic Research of 37 economists forecast the country's economy to grow 0.6% in the final quarter of 2025.

Source: https://vtv.vn/kinh-te-nhat-ban-lan-dau-tang-truong-am-trong-6-quy-10025111714321315.htm