Japan's GDP growth of Q4 2021 revised down to 4.6 pct

TOKYO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December period of 2021 was revised down to an annualized real growth of 4.6 percent from the initially reported 5.4 percent, government data showed Wednesday.

The increase in real GDP, the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation, equals a 1.1-percent increase on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis.

The revision for the reported quarter led to a downgraded growth of 1.6 percent of real GDP in 2021, the country's first economic increase since 2018 following a 4.5-percent plunge in 2020.

"Taking into account the latest data related to services, the eating out and railway industries contributed to the downward revision (in private consumption)," according to a government official.

"But the big picture of spending expanding with recoveries in the restaurant, passenger transportation, and auto sectors has not changed," the official said.

The growth in private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the country's GDP, was revised to 2.4 percent from the previously reported 2.7 percent.

However, personal spending peaked at the highest level since the January-March 2014 period, according to the Cabinet Office.

During the reporting quarter, economic activities fully resumed in Japan as a COVID-19 state of emergency was lifted in all areas on Oct. 1, 2021, when people were no longer asked to refrain from unnecessary outings and restaurants were not asked to close early under the emergency declaration.