Japan’s real GDP in fiscal 2020 decreased by 4.6% from the previous year. The decline exceeds that of the Lehman crisis and is the largest post-war decline. According to a flash report released by the Cabinet Office, excluding price changes, Japan’s real GDP declined by 4.6% compared to the previous year, mainly due to the impact of the new coronavirus (Chinese communist virus) infection and a sharp decline in personal consumption, surpassing the -3.6% decline at the time of the Lehman crisis in 2008, the largest decline in the post-war period.
The preliminary value of gross domestic product (GDP, seasonally adjusted) for the first quarter of 2021 (January to March) released by the Cabinet Office on the 18th showed that real GDP excluding price changes decreased by 1.3% from the previous quarter, translating into a 5.1% decrease in the adult rate. This was the second quarter of negative growth since the second quarter of last year.
Japan’s real GDP in the first quarter was relatively weak compared to the U.S., which is moving toward recovery by promoting vaccination and huge fiscal stimulus, and China, which is rapidly recovering economically by quickly curbing the outbreak.
Some experts point out that compared to countries that have curbed the momentum of infection and turned their economies into positive growth, Japan’s slow progress in vaccination has prevented it from curbing the epidemic and the recovery of the economy will be slow, so negative growth is forecast to continue.
At present, the third emergency declaration and priority measures such as prevention of the spread of the disease cover a total of 19 prefectures, and personal consumption such as the food, entertainment, and travel department store industries will be suppressed to a greater extent.
In the first quarter of 2021, personal consumption was curbed by the second emergency declaration issued in January in response to the New Crown epidemic, decreasing by 1.4% from the previous year. Equipment investment decreased by 1.4% due to base effects and other effects. Public investment decreased by 1.1%. Exports increased by 2.3%, driven by demand for electronic components in Asia, and imports increased by 4.0% due to an increase in medical products in response to the epidemic, including a large number of imports of vaccines for the new crown.
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