Japan has said its economy grew at an annual rate of 4% in the first quarter of 2008, but analysts warned that tougher times lay ahead due to high oil prices and slowing US growth.
It was the third straight positive quarter for the world's second-largest economy, which is gradually recovering from a series of slumps since the 1990s. Growth was also much faster than the initial estimate of 3.3%.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1% compared with the previous three months, up from an initial estimate of 0.8%.
The upgrade was mainly due to higher-than-expected investment by companies in new equipment and factories, with corporate capital spending up 0.2% from the previous quarter, against an initial estimate of a 0.9% drop. Consumer spending grew 0.8%, housing investment jumped 4.6% and exports expanded 4%.
But many analysts warn that a slowdown is inevitable in the second quarter of 2008 as the global economic climate chills due to the economic problems in the US sparked by a housing slump and a related credit crunch.
