Edit: Ahlam Adly 

Japan recovered faster than expected despite the recession caused by the epidemic in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics.

Official figures show that the world's third largest economy grew at twice the forecast in April to June.

However, analysts warned that growth would be modest this quarter following the re-imposition of an emergency to mitigate the rise in corona infections.

Meanwhile, new data also show that the economic recovery of its largest neighbor, China, is declining.

Preliminary data show that Japan's GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter.

This followed a 3.7% decline in the last three months.

However, Japan's recovery remains much slower than in other advanced economies such as the United States, which recorded a 6.5% jump in GDP for the second quarter.

Japan's relatively weak recovery highlights how the government has managed to contain the epidemic.

"Our priority is to prevent the spread of HIV," said Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura after the data were published.

It is very bad for the economy that this situation continues. "

In 2020, the Japanese economy contracted by more than 4.8% over the year, its first contraction in more than a decade.

The country's economy emerged from the first wave of the epidemic last year thanks to strong exports, despite the slow implementation of the vaccination programme and the series of emergency measures that have affected consumption.

At the same time, the sharp rise in delta variant cases in other parts of Asia has led to further disruption in the supply chains of some Japanese manufacturers.

At the same time, factory production and retail sales in China rose slower than expected last month, compared to last year.