Japan to avoid recession, but Q2 growth forecasts cut sharply: poll Today 03:30 am JST Today | 06:45 am JST TOKYO Japan's economy likely grew and avoided slipping into recession this quarter but an extension of emergency measures to stem a rise in coronavirus infections has dented the growth outlook, a Reuters poll showed. Just over a month before Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games, the world's third-largest economy was seen expanding an annualized 0.5% this quarter, less than a third of the 1.7% economists projected last month, according to the June 2-14 poll of 36 economists. Japan's gross domestic product shrank by an annualized 3.9% in January-March, the first contraction in three quarters.