Japan emerges from recession but rebound is weaker than expected

Annualised 2.2% GDP increase is much smaller than forecast, which underlines country's struggle to shake off decades of stagnation

Japan pulled itself out of recession in the last three months of 2014, but the rebound was weaker than expected as household and corporate spending failed to move up a gear.

The preliminary reading for gross domestic product (GDP) showed a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.6% in October to December, which Tokyo said translates into an annualised 2.2%.