MNI POLICY: Japan Economy Growth To Continue In Q4; Govt Aide

Japan's economy is expected to grow again quarter-over-quarter in Q4, underpinned by exports and private consumption a senior official at the Cabinet Office said on Monday.

The economy would normalize in the first quarter of 2022 on a quarterly basis, the official told reporters.

"The economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter as economic activities reopened but the level remains at a low level," he said, although accepting the speed and depth of any recovery would be dictated by the spread of the virus and the government would need to keep on top of events..

Japan's economy grew for the first time in four quarters in Q3, rising 5.0 q/q, or an annualized 21.4%, boosted by private consumption and net export, preliminary GDP data released by the Cabinet Office Monday showed.

Japan's economic growth in the third quarter was the strongest growth recorded since comparable data became available in 1980.

The previous record was +2.9% q/q in the October-December quarter 1989.

The official warned that corporate willingness to implement capital investment remained weak and will remain so for the time being. He added that both exports and production remained solid and were likely to continue due to solid exports to the U.S. and China.