Japan revises up fiscal 2023 GDP forecast to 1.5%

TOKYO, Dec 23 (Nikkei) - Japan's government revised up on Thursday its growth forecast for the next fiscal year on prospects for higher business expenditures and substantial wage hikes that are seen as underpinning consumption.

The upgraded projections, which provide a basis for the government's annual budget plan due on Friday, underscore how Japan is set to buck a global growth slowdown thanks to robust domestic demand supported by inbound tourism reopening.

"Private sector demands will drive growth in fiscal 2023," the government said in a statement, although warning of downside risks from an overseas economic slowdown, inflation, supply bottlenecks and market fluctuations.

Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to expand 1.5% in the fiscal year beginning in April 2023, the government said in its new semiannual projection, up from 1.1% in the previous forecast made in July. ...continue reading

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