Concerns that Japan's economy could be heading for another lull, or worse, rose yesterday as third-quarter growth was sharply revised down to an annualised 1.5 per cent from the original estimate of 2.6 per cent.

Taken together with the June quarter - when the economy contracted - gross domestic product grew by only 0.1 per cent in the first half of the fiscal year, or at an annualised 0.3 per cent.