Japan notched up its seventh quarter of economic growth in a row, official data showed today, although the rate of expansion in the world's third-biggest economy is slowing.
Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3% in the third quarter of the year, marking the longest string of gains for more than 16 years.
However, the figure represented a slowdown from the second quarter, when the economy grew by 0.6%, as a recovery in private consumption appeared to lose steam.
The economy grew by an annualised 1.4%, driven mainly by robust exports, the Cabinet Office in Tokyo announced.
"On average, the Japanese economy is on track for a gradual recovery," Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, told AFP.
He said the decline in private consumption growth was due to a "backlash" from the second quarter, where demand was "too strong."
Domestic demand - which accounts for roughly 60% of Japan's GDP - contracted by 0.2% after a 0.9% rise in the second quarter.
Shinke noted that the weather in Japan was especially poor in the third quarter, which put a dampener on demand in the service sector.
Japan's economy has been picking up steam, mainly on the back of surging exports including smartphone parts and memory chips, with investments linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics also giving growth a boost.
Wage rises have been tepid, however, and Tokyo has struggled to overcome years of deflation.
Falling prices can discourage spending by consumers, who may postpone purchases until prices drop further or save the money instead.
That creates a cycle in which firms then cut back on expanding production, hiring new workers or increasing wages.
