Japan Revises Down Q4 Growth Rate

Japan says its economy grew notably less in the fourth quarter than initial estimates.

The world’s second biggest economy’s gross domestic product expanded at an annual pace of 3.8 percent in the October-December quarter, revised down from 4.6 percent in a preliminary report last month.

The annualized figure corresponds to quarterly growth of 0.9 percent. GDP measures the total value of a nation’s goods and services.

For the 2009 calendar year, the GDP contracted by 5.2 percent, worse than the 5 percent initially projected by the Cabinet Office.

TOKYO (AP)