Japan’s economic growth outlook remains uncertain

Japan's growth prospects remain uncertain at the moment as it continues to be obstructed by low productivity growth, fiscal drag and lethargic external demand. Due to stronger revised corporate spending, the economy marginally avoided a technical recession in the third quarter of 2015. However, weak efforts directed towards the implementation of key structural reforms in the labour market hampers the prospects of a bounce back in the economy.

"We have kept our forecast almost unchanged from our September outlook and expect 1% GDP growth this year. Next year, the sales tax hike from 8% to 10% is likely to hurt consumption, causing growth to dip to 0.6%." - Nordea Bank