Japan’s economy grew 6.3 per cent overnight after it became the latest country to apply new UN standards for compiling national accounts.
The change, which takes the measured size of Japan’s economy from ¥499tn to ¥531tn ($4.6tn) for 2015, is a political boon for Shinzo Abe, prime minister, who has vowed to lift output to ¥600tn by 2020. Although it makes no difference to the true size of the economy, the new accounting delivers a third of his political promise.
Japan’s new figures, which also suggest more robust underlying growth since Mr Abe came to power in 2012, highlight the impact of the UN accounting standards around the world. They will lower Japan’s high ratio of debt to gross domestic product.