The world’s third-biggest economy grew at 4% in the quarter ended June, significantly higher than most forecasts.
Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 4% in the three months through June. That was significantly higher than analysts had predicted and means Japan has now recorded six straight quarters of expansion.
The world’s third largest economy hasn’t seen such sustained growth since 2006, and analysts largely anticipate more good news.
“This is a big slingshot acceleration at the start of the financial year, ” said Jesper Koll, head of Tokyo-based investment fund WisdomTree Japan. “The economy is in a sweet spot.”
Related: Japan racks up longest growth streak in over a decade
The economy is likely to continue to march higher this year, according to Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics. A seventh straight quarter of growth would “mark the longest expansion since the turn of the century, ” he wrote in a research note.
The sustained upturn will be welcome news for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been trying to get growth moving through a series of measures widely known as “Abenomics.
