Japan's economy may have posted 2nd best stretch of post-war growth

Japan's economy likely posted its equal second-best stretch of uninterrupted post-war growth, a government index for August showed on Friday, a nod to strong global demand and premier Shinzo Abe's aggressive stimulus measures.

The latest reading comes as Abe heads to a general election later this month and puts his "Abenomics" policies in the spotlight. However, despite the strong headline number, analysts say the benefits of growth have failed to reach broader sectors of the economy with generally anaemic wages leaving households behind.
The index of coincident economic indicators rose a preliminary 1.9 points to 117.6 in August from the previous month, the level seen in March 2014, the Cabinet Office said. This would mark 57 straight months of growth, matching the second-best stretch of expansion since World War Two, seen between 1965 to 1970.
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