TOKYO: Japan’s economy grew at a slower 3.0% in the October-December quarter, government data showed Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on the world’s third-largest economy.
The economy shrank 4.8% in 2020 — its first annual contraction since 2009.
Last year, virus restrictions and a 2019 consumption tax hike forced Japan into recession before a third-quarter rebound to 5.3% growth, a figure revised upwards slightly on Monday.
Japan emerged from recession in November after recording its worst contraction since comparable figures began to be collected in 1980, exceeding even the pain of the 2008-9 global…