Infographic: G7 Nations Exceed Q3 Growth Expectations

Japan's economy grew 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter - or 1.8 percent annualized - in the third quarter of 2019, the Japanese government has said after a correction of preliminary data that had put annualized Q3 growth as low as 0.2 percent. Forecasters had assumed a growth of 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, which had would have been equal to 0.6 percent annualized.

While officials have said premilinary figures were skewed because Japanese rushed to make purchases before the consumption tax hike on Oct. 1, the OECD nevertheless urged Japan to improve its preliminary readings and not correct them as much in the future. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Japan's average correction is 0.4 percentage points, while other G7 states had averages below 0.3 percentage points.

If Japan reached the rate of 1.8 percent annual growth for 2019, that would be a respectable figure amid the current global economic slowdown.

The U.S. was the only country above that forecast so far, with 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter or 2.3 percent annualized growth as of Q3 - also above expectations. Other countries exceeding growth forecasts in the third quarter were Italy and Germany, which escaped negative growth or stagnation, and the UK, where low growth was expected because of Brexit.