TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Monday that the economy was in a moderate recovery trend albeit some weakness and that it would continue to improve gradually even though overseas economies posed downside risks.

Amari made the remarks after government's preliminary data showed the economy shrank an annualized 0.8 percent in July-September, marking a second straight quarter of contraction.

Amari said he would keep an eye on economic developments and manage economic and fiscal policy in a flexible manner.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)