Official figures show that Japan's economy grew at a faster than expected 3.3% annual rate in the first quarter of 2008 despite a global credit crunch and US economic slowdown.
Robust exports to China and other emerging markets offset weaker demand in the US for Japanese cars and other goods.
A rebound in housing investment and rising consumer spending also helped to ensure a third consecutive quarter of positive growth for Asia's biggest economy, which is gradually recovering from recession in the 1990s.
Analysts noted, however, that consumer spending had been helped by the fact that 2008 is a leap year, giving shoppers an extra day in February.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.8% in the three months to March from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office estimated. Earlier in the year there had been worries that Japan's economy might contract in the first quarter due to the global slowdown, but most analysts are now confident Japan can avoid a recession in the first half of 2008.
