Japan's economy grew at an annualised pace of 3.3% in the first quarter, much faster than previously thought, the government said this morning.
Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.8% in the three months to March, the Cabinet Office said, better than an initial estimate of 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and an annualised rate of 2.4%.
It was a ninth straight quarter of growth for the world's second largest economy, although slower than the three months to December when GDP grew by a revised 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter.
The main reason for the upward revision was an upgrade to corporate capital spending to a 0.3% gain quarter-on-quarter compared with a 0.9% drop previously, after the fourth quarter's 2.7% expansion.
Japanese companies - many of which are enjoying record profits - have been spending heavily on new factories and equipment, helping Japan to post its longest sustained expansion since World War II.
