Japan's wild GDP revisions stand out in G-7

After initially reporting growth of 0.2% for third quarter, Tokyo changes it to 1.8%

20191210 20191209 japan GDP capital spending (REUTERS)

A beer production line at a Japanese brewery. Lagging capital investment figures are blamed for being the cause of Japan's big revisions to GDP figure. © Reuters

MASAHARU TATENO, Nikkei staff writer

December 10, 2019 04:54 JST

TOKYO -- Japan's notorious habit of significantly revising gross domestic product figures from earlier assessments was on display Monday when it updated third-quarter numbers, renewing calls for a remedy.

GDP logged annualized real growth of 1.8% for the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said, less than a month after pegging growth at just 0.2% in its first estimate. The jump is attributed to a clearer picture of a surge in last-minute purchases ahead of the Oct. 1 consumption tax hike.