IMF Revises Up Japan's Growth Forecasts

Washington, Jan. 25 (Jiji Press)--The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that it has revised up its economic growth forecasts for Japan for 2022 and 2023. The country's vigorous fiscal spending will more than offset negative effects from the slowdown of the U.S. and Chinese economies, according to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook report. The Japanese economy is forecast to expand 3.3 pct this year, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous projection released in October last year, and 1.8 pct in 2023, up 0.4 point. Meanwhile, the IMF revised down its world economic forecast for 2022 by 0.5 point to growth of 4.4 pct, mainly citing the sluggishness in the United States and China. The projected global slowdown from 5.9 pct in 2021 reflects "anticipated effects of mobility restrictions, border closures, and health impacts from the spread of the omicron variant" of the novel coronavirus, the report said. The U.S. projection for 2022 was lowered by 1.2 points to growth of 4.0 pct because it is uncertain when the country can enact its massive spending package. The 2022 growth rate for China is forecast at 4.8 pct, down 0.8 point. The downward revision stems from the negative impact of the country's strict coronavirus measures and the weakness of the real estate industry, according to the report. END