Tokyo. Japan has lost its position as the world’s third largest economy. Its gross domestic product for 2023 is 591.48 trillion yen (4.21 trillion US dollars).
Japan has been overtaken by Germany, which means that Japan’s economy is smaller than the size of Germany’s economy. In 2023, Germany’s gross domestic product has remained at 4.46 trillion dollars.
Japan’s economy showed a continuous contraction during the third and fourth quarters of last year, public government data on Thursday indicated an economic slowdown here.
Statistics show that the economy shrank at the rate of 0.4 percent during October-December due to poor spending. Japan’s real gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced, fell by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, preliminary government data showed.
According to the Cabinet Office, there was a decrease of 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s gross domestic product, fell 0.2 percent in the October-December period, the ninth straight month of decline.
Commercial investment also declined by 0.1 percent. Imports, which have a negative impact on the gross domestic product, increased by 1.7 percent, while exports increased by 2.6 percent.
Thursday’s data showed Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.9 percent in 2023, up 5.7 percent in nominal terms.