Japan economy minister, Daishiro Yamagiwa says in a Gross Domestic Product statement that the economy continues to pick up but the pace is weakening and needs policy support.

He said that he needs to be mindful of downside risks from global but the economy is expected to pick up ahead due to global.

The comments follow today's GDP data:

Japan's GDP translated into a quarterly drop of 0.8%

Reuters reported that Japan's economy contracted at an annualised rate of 3.0% in July-September from the previous quarter, government data showed on Monday, posting the first decline in two quarters as resurgent coronavirus infections hurt consumer spending.