TOKYO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's economy grew at an annualized real rate of 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, revised down from the preliminary estimate of 2.1 percent, government data showed Monday.
Quarter on quarter, real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, expanded 0.45 percent in the January-March period from the previous three months, down from the initial reading of 0.51 percent, the Cabinet Office said.
In the reporting period, capital spending, the main factor behind the downward revision, contracted 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, compared with the initially reported 0.3 percent increase, due to weak investment in software and production machinery.
Meanwhile, public investment was revised slightly higher to a 1.5 percent gain from a 1.4 percent increase.
Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's GDP, expanded 0.35 percent in the quarter, revised up from 0.27 percent in the preliminary reading.
Exports rose 1.8 percent from the previous quarter, revised up from a 1.7 percent climb, while imports increased 0.4 percent, slightly below the initial estimate of 0.5 percent.
In nominal terms, Japan's GDP grew at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent in the January-March quarter, revised down from a previously reported 3.4 percent expansion.
Looking ahead, analysts warned that prolonged tensions in the Middle East could cloud Japan's economic outlook in the April-June quarter by fueling inflation, dampening private consumption, and disrupting petroleum and petrochemical supplies. ■
