Japan upgrades Q1 GDP

Beating forecast: A file picture showing people wearing face masks to protect against the spread of Covid-19 in Tokyo. Spending should recover as consumers return to the streets, according to Nishimura. — AP

TOKYO: Japan’s economy shrank at a slower-than-initially reported pace in the first quarter, on smaller cuts to plant and equipment spending, but the coronavirus pandemic still dealt a huge blow to overall demand.

Separate data showed growth in bank lending slowed sharply in May, while real wages posted the biggest monthly jump in more than a decade in April, in signs that the world’s third-largest economy was gradually overcoming last year’s pandemic hit.