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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Japan hit by weaker economic growth | Japan hit by weaker economic growth |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Japan's economy shrank in the second quarter of the year, marking a setback for the government's reform policy. | Japan's economy shrank in the second quarter of the year, marking a setback for the government's reform policy. |
| Between April and June, economic growth contracted by 0.4% compared with the first three months of the year. | |
| Lagging exports and sluggish consumer spending were the biggest contributors to the drop in growth. | Lagging exports and sluggish consumer spending were the biggest contributors to the drop in growth. |
| It is likely to put pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revamp his reform programme of monetary and fiscal stimulus to boost growth. | It is likely to put pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revamp his reform programme of monetary and fiscal stimulus to boost growth. |
| Japan's economy shrank at an annualised pace of 1.6% in the quarter, following a revised expansion of 4.5% in the first quarter, official data showed. | |
| Doubtful outlook | Doubtful outlook |
| Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said the GDP contraction was due to weak exports to China and the US, as well as poor consumer spending as a result of bad weather. | |
| The disappointing economic growth follows a recent run of weak data including exports and factory output, raising doubts about the outlook for the rest of the year. | The disappointing economic growth follows a recent run of weak data including exports and factory output, raising doubts about the outlook for the rest of the year. |
| In July, the International Monetary Fund had warned Tokyo, not to rely too much on the weak yen for long-term recovery. | |
| Tokyo's reform efforts, dubbed Abenomics, were kicked off in 2012, and were aimed at getting Japan's economy out of deflation and back to growth. | |
| While the programme is credited with having achieved short-term growth, the government has struggled to deregulate the job market and open up some of the country's very protected industry sectors. | While the programme is credited with having achieved short-term growth, the government has struggled to deregulate the job market and open up some of the country's very protected industry sectors. |