Japanese govt estimates zero economic growth for FY 09

TOKYO: The Japanese government projected on Monday that Japan will log almost zero percent economic growth in fiscal year 2009, which starts in April 2009.

The cabinet office said after a meeting that against the backdrop of the global economic meltdown, Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) would remain sluggish during the next fiscal year on slowing exports as well as shrinking domestic demand.

On a nominal basis, the GDP growth, excluding prices changes, is projected at a pace of around 0.1 percent, said the office.

With the implementation of the government's economic stimulus packages, the economy may show signs of improvement in the second half of the year through March 2010, it said.