Japan's economy is likely experiencing its longest expansion phase since the end of World War II amid solid domestic demand and a tightening labor market, the government said Tuesday.
But in the same economic report for January, the Cabinet Office, which helps coordinate government policy, cut its monthly assessment of exports for the first time in three months due to the trade war between the United States and China in a warning that the fallout is spreading to Japan.
The Japanese economy is thought to have counted its 74th consecutive month of improvement since December 2012 under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, though there is persistent criticism that consumers have yet to feel the benefits as wage gains remain tepid.