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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Japan Finance Minister: Can't Say Japan Recovery Sustainable Yet

By Takashi Nakamichi

Dow Jones Newswires

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japan's finance minister Naoto Kan said Friday that recent gross domestic product data suggest there has been an improvement in the nation's economy, but that it is still too early to say the recovery is sustainable.

"I think that broader trends in the economy have taken a step forward," Kan said at a regular press conference after a Cabinet meeting, noting that the downward revision to fourth-quarter GDP data was relatively small.

But "the economy has not yet reached sustainable growth," he added.

Revised government data showed Thursday that fourth-quarter growth was weaker than previously thought, and that the economy actually contracted in the third quarter.

The Cabinet Office cut the October-December gross domestic product growth rate to 3.8% in price-adjusted annualized terms, from the initial 4.6% announced last month.

The economy also shrank an annualized 0.6% in the third quarter, instead of growing 0.03% as previously estimated, the Cabinet Office said.

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