The recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami is slowing because of the uncertainty prevailing over the global economy and a poor exchange rate for exporters, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday.
In its biannual outlook report, the OECD, the Paris-based club of rich nations, said Japan's inflation-adjusted gross domestic product will shrink 0.3 percent in 2011 from 2010, altering its May forecast of a 0.9 percent contraction, due mainly to robust public and private-sector spending on reconstruction work following the March 11 disasters.
In 2012, the economy is expected to grow 2.0 percent, the organization said, slightly downgrading its earlier projection of a 2.2 percent expansion amid prospects that the contribution from domestic demand might wane toward the end of the year. Newly presenting its estimate for 2013, the OECD said Japan will continue to see a moderate recovery with growth of 1.6 percent.