TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy eked out an annual rate of 0.9% growth in the July-September period as consumer spending held up, government data showed Friday.
The world’s fourth-largest economy grew 0.2% in the fiscal second quarter, marking the second straight quarter of expansion, following 0.5% growth in April-June.
Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product, or GDP, measures the value of a nation’s products and services. The annual rate shows how much the economy would have grown or contracted, if the quarterly rate continued for a year.
Domestic demand grew at an annualized rate of 2.5%. Private consumption, which makes up more than half of Japan’s GDP, grew 3.6% on the back of healthy household consumption, according to preliminary Cabinet Office data.
Recent data show wages and employment are improving. Spending was lower than the previous quarter, partly because of severe weather that crimped spending and shut down some factories. Recent income tax reductions helped boost spending.
Exports grew 1.5%. The weakening yen is a plus for exports, tending to make Japanese products cheaper overseas. But the impact was relatively limited in the latest quarter. The Japanese yen was trading at 160-yen levels earlier this year. It’s now trading at 150-yen levels.
Prior to the last two quarters, the economy contracted 0.6% in the January-March quarter after recording a 0.1% growth in October-December in 2023, highlighting how Japan’s economy recently slipped into periods of contraction in between weak expansion.
“We believe the Japanese economy will continue to grow gradually, supported by growth in overseas economies,” said Katsutoshi Inadome, senior strategist at SuMi Trust.
He noted winter bonuses many Japanese get in coming months should also help strengthen domestic demand.
As for headwinds, Japan is facing political uncertainty with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba having to survive a runoff this week to remain in office but now facing an emboldened opposition.
Unlike the U.S. and other developed nations grappling with inflationary pressures, Japan struggled with years of deflation, or a continuous cascading down of prices that underlines a fragile economy. Inflation stood at 2.5% in September.
Market watchers are also focused on when the central bank might move next on interest rates. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates at zero or below zero for years to wrest the economy out of deflation but is gradually raising them.
Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, bottom center, accompanied by his new cabinet members poses for photo at his office in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool Photo via AP)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Masses of residents fled a running battle Thursday between gang members and police in one of the few neighborhoods of Haiti’s capital that hadn't already been fully taken over by gangs, as violence flared amid political turmoil.
Families frantically packed mattresses and furniture into cars and carried their belongings on their heads as they left the Solino neighborhood, one of a handful of areas in Port-au-Prince where a coalition of gangs, called Viv Ansanm, and police were locked in a violent firefight over the past several days.
“We barely made it out,” said 52-year-old Jean-Jean Pierre, who carrying his son in his arms as he fled the neighborhood with throngs of people. “I've lived here 40 years of my life and I've never seen it this bad.”
Violence has exploded in the capital since Sunday when Haiti's transitional council created to restore democratic order fired the interim prime minister amid political infighting. The Caribbean nation hasn't held an election since 2016, largely because of the gang violence.
The U.N. International Office for Migration reports that since Sunday more than 4,300 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince and neighboring towns, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the U.N. in New York on Thursday,
Gangs like the Viv Ansanm coalition often seize on moments of political chaos to make power grabs like the one seen in Solino in recent days.
Gangs also largely shut down the country's main airport by shooting a number of planes, wounding one flight attendant on Monday. The United Nations said that it documented 20 armed clashes in Port-au-Prince in just one day. The U.N. estimates that gangs control 85% of the city.
A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police sent to subdue the gangs has been unable to quell the violence.
Pierre, the fleeing father, said he hasn't seen any presence of the U.N.-backed mission in his neighborhood, and that he and his family don't know where they'll go. Other residents said gang members had forced them from their homes and burned their belongings.
“These gangs are more powerful than the police,” Pierre said.
The United Nations has mobilized help, spokesman Dujarric said.
In the past two days, he said the U.N. children's agency UNICEF provided cash to nearly 1,500 people in displacement sites in the capital and the U.N. population and migration agencies deployed mobile health clinics and are providing clean water. Starting Thursday, he said, the U.N. World Food Program delivered food to more than 50,000 displaced people in Port-au-Prince.
“Across Haiti, WFP has also provided cash to nearly 100,000 people and is delivering daily meals to 430,000 children in 2,000 schools across the country," Dujarric said.
The country's new interim prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, has been largely silent about the violence since he was sworn in on Monday, but on Wednesday released a statement condemning the plane shootings. His office said that he ordered police to regain control of the airport and nearby areas.
Meanwhile, videos on social media have shown smoke rising up from the Solino area, as gunfire has echoed from the neighborhood's streets in recent days.
While it wasn’t immediately clear how many people were fleeing the violence in Solino, it appeared that much of the neighborhood was emptying out.
Residents said that gang members had killed a police officer who was known as a community leader fighting back against the gangs. That killing also was reported by local media, though The Associated Press wasn't able to confirm the death with authorities.
In October, the same gang coalition made a similar violent push into the Solino neighborhood, setting fire to homes and leaving many fleeing with all they could carry or calling radio stations to plead for help.
Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Children sleep on the floor at a school where residents of the Nazon neighborhood displaced by gang violence have sought refuge, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
A motorcycle taxi driver crosses a barricade set up by residents, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
An asthmatic girl rests as she takes refuge in a private school serving as a shelter for residents fleeing gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The body of a man who was shot dead by a stray bullet, is secured to the floor of a tap-tap, in the Solino neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
