TOKYO: Japan sidestepped a feared recession in the first quarter, preliminary data showed Wednesday, but the weak reading underscored how efforts to cement a firm recovery in the world’s number three economy are stumbling.
Gross domestic product expanded by a slightly better-than-expected 0.4 percent between January and March — 1.7 percent at an annualised rate — after a contraction in the last three months of 2015.
