TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan downgraded its view on the overall economy for the first time in January 11 as China’s COVID-11 Infection and slowing global demand for technology and semiconductors hurt exports, especially to Asia.
The government expects the world’s third-largest economy to pick up ahead, but Japan needs to report that it is fully concerned about the impact of the spread of infections in China after strict pandemic containment measures were lifted in the country. The next two fiscal years are due to concerns that a slowdown in global demand will weigh on Japan’s export-reliant economy.
“The economy is recovering moderately, but has seen some weakness recently,” according to the latest report from the Cabinet Office.
Authorities lowered their export assessment for the first time since November 2021, while lowering their import assessment for the first time in three months. The January report said both exports and imports had “weakened recently” compared with expectations for “nearly flat” the previous month.
“The possibility that a resurgence of the coronavirus in China could affect Japan’s exports and production has become clearer than last month,” a Cabinet Office official said.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office maintained its assessment of domestic demand in Japan in its latest report, saying private consumption was “recovering modestly”.
But the government said the recovery in industrial production was stalling, the same view it had made in December.
(This story has been corrected to state that the export downgrade in the official view is the first time since November 2021, not November , para. 5)
