It was the second successive expansion for the Japanese economy after growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. "For those who want to implement the tax hike as scheduled, today's data is a tailwind," Shinke told AFP. The previous sales tax hike to 8%, from 5%, in 2014 hit consumption and was blamed for a slump in the Japanese economy. Last week, the cabinet office said its key economic indicator "composite index" showed the Japanese economy was "worsening" for the first time in more than six years. And late last month, the Bank of Japan revised down its estimate for growth, also saying Japan would fail to hit its 2% inflation target even by 2020.

Source: Bangkok Post May 20, 2019 02:15 UTC