A man wearing a face mask talks through a cellphone in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

 
Japan's economy in the July-September period increased an annualized real 21.4 percent compared to the previous quarter, logging the largest gain in 40 years, government statistics revealed Monday.

However, a gradual resumption of economic activities has yet to bring the economy back to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, according to government data.

The preliminary statistics on Japan’s gross domestic product showed a 5.0-percent increase on a seasonally-adjusted quarterly basis, the largest rise since comparable data became available in the April-June quarter of 1980, the Cabinet Office said.

The country’s GDP witnessed the first growth in four quarters. In the previous quarter, Japan’s GDP decreased an annualized 28.8 percent, deemed the worst on record since 1955, as the government declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic in April.

The year 1955 is the earliest point at which the government can track reference values, according to local media reports.

In addition, the annualized size of real GDP amounted to 507.62 trillion yen (4.85 trillion U.S. dollars), recovering only about half of the plunge from 526.59 trillion yen (5.03 trillion dollars) in this year's first quarter to 483.64 trillion yen (4.62 trillion dollars) in the second quarter.

Private consumption and exports displayed sharp recoveries, up 4.7 percent and 7.0 percent in real terms on a quarterly basis, respectively, according to the government.