Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Asia's second-biggest economy looks likely to grow again in the July-September quarter, although he warned of the risk posed by the strong yen, which hurts
The Cabinet Office said
The figures highlight that
"It was negative growth, but not bad data," said Mitsumaru Kumagai, chief economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research. "Our basic expectation now is to see gradual growth on the back of reconstruction demand."
Exports plunged by an annualised 18.1 percent in the second quarter, when tsunami damage to factories in Japan's northeast still hobbled supply chains, especially in the crucial auto and electronics sectors.
As the scale of the disaster weighed on the nation, private consumer spending, nearly two-thirds of
However, rebuilding efforts also stimulated the economy. Government consumption rose 0.5 percent and public investment increased 3.0 percent due to relief and reconstruction projects for the quake-hit areas.
Corporate investment grew by 0.2 percent, said the data, which follows recent figures showing increases in industrial production and machinery orders, a key indicator of capital spending.
Kumagai said that "despite the damage done to supply chains, consumption of durable goods, such as televisions and air-conditioners, did not fall," he said. "Exports did fall, but not as sharply as expected.
"For July-September, it is reasonable to assume a return to growth."
Finance Minister Noda also said: "There is a strong possibility the economy will return to growth in the July-September period.
"But there are factors posing downside risks to the economy, such as the yen's strength," he added at a news conference.
Recent global market turmoil sparked by the eurozone debt crisis and the uncertain
The heavy buying has sent the yen soaring to near its post-war high of 76.25 to the dollar -- a trend that hits