Japan’s economy grew a weaker-than-expected 2.6 percent in the three months through June, according the latest government figures, down from the 4.1 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year.
It has raised questions about Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to boost growth after years of stagnation and whether Toyko would launch a series of tax hikes.
Japan is expected to raise its five percent sales tax to eight percent next April and then to 10 percent in October 2015, as it looks to curb is huge public debt.
Analysts were expecting growth of 3.6 percent in Q2.
It is the third quarter of expansion for the Japanese economy.
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