Japan's economy contracted an annualized real 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2025, amid stagnant private consumption and falling exports, government data showed Friday.
The latest real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate marked the first quarterly contraction in four quarters, according to the Cabinet Office.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP in the January-March period, adjusted for inflation, declined 0.2 percent, the office said in a preliminary report.
On a quarterly basis, exports fell 0.6 percent, while imports, which negatively affect GDP, climbed 2.9 percent.
Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economic output, rose 0.04 percent, due to the impact of higher prices, the office said.
Nominal GDP increased 0.8 percent from the October-December period, or 3.1 percent at an annualized rate.
Japan's Q1 GDP contracts annualized real 0.7 pct on weak consumption, exports
Russia said on Tuesday that its armed forces had struck Ukrainian military-industrial sites and energy facilities, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported its troop withdrawal from the embattled eastern town of Siversk.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that its forces had taken control of the settlement of Prylipka in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region and Andriivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region over the past 24 hours.
In retaliation for Ukraine's attacks on civilian targets inside Russian, the Russian forces had also conducted a large-scale strike against Ukrainian military-industrial sites and energy infrastructure, using land- and air-based high-precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Tuesday that its troops had withdrawn from the embattled eastern town of Siversk in the Donetsk region to "preserve the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers and the combat capability of the units", though heavy fighting was continuing in the Siversk area.
The Ukrainian forces were still carrying out combat missions in the Sloviansk direction, the Ukrainian side said.
Also on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia had launched a coordinated strike against energy facilities and other critical infrastructure in Ukraine since 18:00 Monday, and As of 11:30 Tuesday, 34 missiles and 587 drones had been intercepted or neutralized.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said on the same day that due to the Russian attacks, emergency power outages and power restrictions were being implemented in several regions, with Ukrainian nuclear power plants also forced to reduce their output.
Russia strikes Ukrainian military-industrial sites, as Ukraine loses embattled eastern town
