Japan’s economy grows for a second straight quarter on the back of consumer spending

AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy eked out an annual rate of 0.9% growth in the July-September quarter as consumer spending held up. Government data showed Friday that the world’s fourth-largest economy grew 0.2% in the fiscal second quarter, marking the second straight quarter of expansion. Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product, or GDP, measures the value of a nation’s products and services. The annual rate shows how much the economy would have grown or contracted, if the quarterly rate continued for a year. Domestic demand grew at an annualized rate of 2.5%. Private consumption, which makes up more than half of Japan’s GDP, grew 3.6%.