TOKYO: Japan’s annual exports grew much-less than expected in June, highlighting weak Chinese and Western demand that continues to undercut the post-COVID recovery in the world’s third-biggest economy.

The risk of a world recession amid sweeping monetary policy tightening since last year has cast a pall over export-led economies, with many countries including Japan relying on domestic consumption to underpin growth. The trade data, released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday, showed exports rose 1.5% year-on-year last month, below the 2.3% gain expected by 15 economists in a Reuters poll, but faster than a 0.6% rise in May.