TOKYO- A Cabinet Office panel of experts on Thursday effectively confirmed that Japan's current economic expansion continued for the 53rd consecutive month in April, making it the third longest in the postwar period.

The panel, headed by Rissho University Prof. Hiroshi Yoshikawa, judged that Japan did not fall into recession after the consumption tax from 5 pct to 8 pct in April 2014.

The current expansionary phase started in December 2012, when Shinzo Abe came back as prime minister. The previous third-longest expansion, recorded during the asset-inflated bubble economy period, lasted 51 months to February 1992.

The panel determines the peak and the trough of an economic cycle retrospectively, based on economic data.

At its previous meeting in July 2015, the panel determined that the economy hit a trough in November 2012. But the panel did not make a judgment on the period after the latest consumption hike. (Jiji Press)