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Japan's GDP up 1.4 percent for longest expansion in 16 years

TOKYO, Nov 15 (KUNA) -- Japan's economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.4 percent in the July-September period on strong exports, marking the seventh straight quarterly expansion, the longest continuous growth over 16 years, the government said Wednesday. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded following a 2.5 percent growth in the second quarter, according to preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office. It posted the longest expansion since eight consecutive quarters ended in January-March 2001. On a quarterly basis, the world's third biggest economy's GDP rose 0.3 percent in the three months ended September 30 from the previous quarter. However, personal consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's GDP, fell 0.5 percent from the second quarter due to poor summer weather. Corporate capital spending, another key pillar of domestic demand, increased 0.2 percent. Concerning foreign demand, exports grew 1.5 percent, thanks to robust shipments of electronic parts to Asia and automobiles to the US.
"There was no change to the government's view that Japan's economy maintains a moderate recovery trend," Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press conference after the Cabinet released GDP data. "With a sustained improvement in employment and income, the economy is expected to recover moderately," said Motegi. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically. (end) mk.lb