Japan GDP shrinks more than first reported as shoppers pull back

More people have been venturing out and spending since Japan lifted emergency restrictions on activity at the start of October, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida must now keep it going amid fears over the new Omicron variant. - Reuters

TOKYO (Bloomberg): Japan’s economy shrank at a faster pace than first estimated as shoppers cut back further during summer’s Covid surge, a sign of the heightened risk now facing the recovery should the Omicron variant spread.

Gross domestic product contracted an annualized 3.6% in the three months through September, revised figures from the Cabinet Office showed Wednesday (Dec 8). Economists had expected a 3.1% overall slide, compared with the government’s initial 3% estimate.