The expectations of a Reuters survey indicate that the corona epidemic may lead to a 0.2% shaving in the growth rate of the Japanese economy during the year 2020, due to its impact on exports, factory output and tourism.
The spread of the virus, which originated in China, has killed more than 1,300 people, and has caused disruptions in the movement of people and goods.
17 economists out of 32 surveyed expected that the Japanese economy would be affected by 0.1% -0.2%, while 7 said it might be affected by less than 0.1%. In another survey, the Japanese economy is expected to grow by 0.16% in 2020.
During the fiscal year that ends in March, analysts polled by Reuters expect GDP to grow by 0.8%, with sales tax applied at the end of last year that affected the economy’s growth in the last quarter, and for the new fiscal year that begins in April they expect the economy to slow to 0.5%.
There is a heavy reliance from Japan on China, which makes it vulnerable to the repercussions of the virus, according to a study, China is the second largest destination for Japan's exports, and the Chinese make up about 30% of the total tourists visiting Japan and about 40% of tourism spending in the past year.
