Japanese Real GDP Growth

The economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 5.5 percent in real terms in the October-December period for the fourth-straight quarter of growth, the Cabinet Office said Friday. Japan's economy grew four times faster than the United States which saw annualised growth of 1.1 percent in the same period.

In calendar 2005, gross domestic product grew a real 2.8 percent from the previous year, for the sixth straight year of growth. This was also the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, which economists said offered proof that Japan had finally shaken off a more than decade-long slump and entered a new era of healthy growth rates.

The economy was on track to beat the Government's estimate of 2.7 per cent growth for the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31.

Japan first showed signs of a domestic-led recovery in 2004, and economists have been eagerly watching to see if the revival in consumer spending would prove sustainable.