Japan, Germany economic growth slows

PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan's economy, which is the world's third largest, grew by 0.5% in the three months to September, marking a sharp slowdown in growth, according to BBC News.

The deceleration comes despite aggressive measures taken this year to spur growth after years of stagnation.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made reviving the economy his top priority. His economic policies, known as Abenomics, include boosting stimulus and key sector reforms.

Stronger growth seen earlier in the year had been driven by personal consumption, which weakened in the third quarter.

Tomohiko Taniguchi, Japan's councillor of the cabinet secretariat, said that despite the recent slowdown, the Japanese economy was still on track for growth. The figures showed the economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.9% for the quarter, which Taniguchi said was good enough.

"A year ago this time, the third quarter figure for 2012... we were talking about negative growth of more than 3%," he told the BBC.

Abe came to power last December and has unveiled a series of measures to help ensure long-term economic growth for the Asian nation.

His "Abenomics" policies are based on the so-called "three arrows" - monetary policy, fiscal stimulus and structural reforms.

The first arrow, monetary policy, is aimed at ending Japan's almost two decades of falling prices, or deflation. The second arrow has seen Abe announce plans to boost government spending on infrastructure, to foster growth. And the third arrow - key sector reform - is aimed at encouraging private investment in the country.

Meanwhile, Germany's economic growth slowed in the third quarter of the year while the French economy contracted, according to the latest official figures. Germany's economy grew by 0.3% in the July-to-September period, less than half the 0.7% growth rate seen in the previous quarter.

Earlier, figures from France showed its economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year. The French economy had grown by 0.5% in the previous three months.