Instead, Japan unexpectedly shot to the top of Group of Seven club, with its gross domestic product notching four-percent annual growth last quarter. The biggest gains were in consumption and business spending, both essential ingredients in sustaining the nation’s expansion. The world’s third-largest economy, Japan could be in even better shape if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could overcome ancient tradition and political opposition by welcoming large-scale immigration. The IMF said the global expansion is broadening beyond the US, with China, Europe and Japan carrying more of the load. Ultimately, it needs to either embrace large-scale immigration as a solution to labor shortages or make greater use of robots.

Source: The Standard August 15, 2017 16:07 UTC