国际英语新闻：Japan's GDP shrinks 1.1% in 4th quarter 2010

TOKYO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, marking the first contraction in five quarters, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

The October-December period figure, measured by gross domestic product, means a 0.3 percent fall from the previous three-month period.

The figures beat forecasts of an annualized 2.2 percent contraction and 0.6 percent quarterly decline in a Kyodo News survey. Analysts said the downturn was a natural result of the slowdown in exports and weaker domestic consumer demand.

Japan's real GDP grew 3.9 percent in 2010, according to government statistics. A nominal GDP of 5.474 trillion U.S. dollars only secured a third spot for Japan in the world, behind the United States and China.

Japan's Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano speaks at a press conference in Tokyo, on Feb. 14, 2011. Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, marking the first contraction in five quarters, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

Japan's Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said he welcomed China' s advancement as the world's second-biggest economy.

Despite its quarterly GDP contraction, analysts believed signs of recovery are seen in Japan's economy. Its exports accelerated for a second month in a row in Dec. and picked up briskly in 2010 from a year earlier, thanks largely to the robust demand from China and other Asian economies.