Japanese economy returns to growth

TOKYO, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The Japanese economy, the world's second largest, grew in the April-June quarter, suggesting its recession has ended, the government said Monday.

The quarterly GDP, spurred by renewed exports and the government's stimulus program, expanded 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, representing an annual growth of 3.7 percent.

It was the first such quarterly growth in more than a year, The Washington Post reported.

The report said the Japanese performance comes in the wake of similar upturns in China, South Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore, indicating a turn in the global economy.

The report said there are signals of recovery in Europe as well, with Germany and France becoming the first major industrialized countries officially to come out of recession, albeit with anemic growth. Britain, Italy and Spain, however, are still in decline.

The U.S. economy contracted by 1 percent in the second quarter but the Federal Reserve has indicated it expects the downturn to ease, the Post said. There is still concern whether the recovery will continue because of lingering problems such as the high jobless rate.

The latest economic news may not be enough to save Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party from defeat in the Aug. 30 election, some analysts told the Post.

"Regardless of what the numbers say, a majority of people are struggling day to day," one analyst said. "The market will respond, but the general public will not."

Japan's growth came after four consecutive quarters of contraction, The New York Times reported, adding improvements in other overseas markets and tax breaks at home helped boost Japan's exports of cars and electronics and consumer spending at home.