Japan’s economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.6 percent in the January-March period, buoyed by robust private consumption and resumption of inbound tourism, government data showed Wednesday.

The first expansion of the gross domestic product (GDP) in three quarters followed a revised 0.01 percent contraction in the October-December quarter of 2022, according to preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office.

On a quarterly basis, the world’s third-biggest economy’s GDP expanded 0.4 percent in the three months ended March 31, showed the data.

“Data showed the Japanese economy is recovering gradually,” Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Shigeyuki Goto told a press conference after the Cabinet released GDP data.

But Goto underlined the need to pay attention to downside risks, such as slowdown in global economy and impact of inflation on consumers, saying, “The government will not hesitate to take necessary policy steps while closely watching economic and price trends.” Personal consumption, which makes up more than half of Japan’s GDP, gained 0.6 percent from the preceding three-month period, thanks to spending on eating out and tourism and strong demand for cars and durable goods. Corporate capital spending, another key pillar of domestic demand, increased 0.9 percent.

However, exports declined 4.2 percent, chiefly due to weak shipments of semiconductor production equipment amid softening of the global semiconductor market, as well as cars and construction machinery.

GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically.

Source: Kuwait News Agency