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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy is set to grow much slower than previously hoped this quarter, hobbled by extended emergency measures put in place to halt a rise in coronavirus infections, a Reuters poll showed.
It is likely to expand an annualised 1.7% this quarter, less than half the 4.7% projected last month, according to the poll of 33 economists conducted May 6-13.
Nearly all of the economists polled believe the government will compile an extra budget to support the world's third-largest economy, with 60% expecting it to come before the end of the third quarter.
A surge in infections due in part to new variants led to the government's decision to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas until the end of the month and to expand it to two more prefectures, hitting consumer spending and broader activity.