The Japanese economy expanded from April through June at an annualized rate of 2.6 per cent, the Government said on Monday.
Consumer spending — which constitutes about 60 per cent of GDP — climbed 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while exports of goods and services rose 3 per cent, the Cabinet Office said.
The rise in GDP was short of the 3.2 per-cent growth predicted by a poll of economists by the Kyodo News agency.