Japanese economic growth surpassed expectations at the start of 2026, official data showed on Tuesday, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is mulling an extra budget as concerns grow over inflation due to the Middle East war.

TOKYO, May 19 : Japan's economy grew an annualised 2.1 per cent in the first quarter, government data showed on Tuesday, compared with the median market forecast for a 1.7 per…

The figure beat projections of 0.4% from Reuters-polled economists, and against the 0.3% in the last quarter.