Official figures show that Japan's economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.0% in the three months to March.
A rise in domestic demand and a boost in exports kept it on the recovery path.
Economy Minister Motohisa Furukawa said the economy, hit hard by last year's quake-tsunami disaster and a surging yen, was likely to see further expansion in April-June.
He warned, however, of the possible impact of Europe's debt crisis.
Preliminary figures from the Cabinet Office showed 1.0% quarter-on-quarter growth in January-March GDP, slightly above expectations for a 0.9% rise.
It marked the third straight quarter of real GDP growth for Japan, also buoyed by government reconstruction spending following the devastating natural disasters in March 2011.
On an annualised basis, Japan's economy grew 4.1% in the quarter, also beating expectations of 3.5% expansion.
Europe, a key market for everything from Japanese televisions and DVD players to cars and machinery, remains at the top of policymakers' concerns.
At the weekend, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cited the continent as the "biggest downside risk factor for the Japanese economy" along with a strong yen, which makes exporters' products more expensive overseas.
Power cuts
But homes and businesses in Japan are getting set for what could be a summer of power shortages after the nation switched off its nuclear reactors following last year's atomic crisis, with industry being asked to make deep energy cuts.
All 50 of Japan's nuclear power plants have been switched off after the March 11 tsunami, which swamped reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and sent them into meltdown.
Energy shortages could pose a serious risk to Japan's recovery, while a lack of confidence in the euro may boost the safe-haven yen and create a headache for the nation's embattled exporters, said Takeshi Minami, economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
"We still do not know how much we will be short on electricity, but a serious shortage could dampen the economy when it is expanding on reconstruction demand," he said.
Japan's economy was also hit by severe flooding in Thailand in late 2011, disrupting global supply chains and the production capability of Japanese manufacturers, particularly electronics and automakers.
Toshiba drops Japan TV operations
However, Toshiba said today it has stopped making televisions in Japan, citing slow domestic demand as falling prices, fierce global competition and a strong yen pressure the country's electronics makers.
The IT-and-engineering conglomerate shuttered production lines at its last remaining domestic TV plant in Fukaya, near Tokyo, at the end of March, a company spokesman told AFP.
Toshiba, the maker of the Regza brand of televisions, has shifted all of its television production to factories in China, Indonesia, Egypt and Poland, he said, adding: "The fall in domestic demand is the reason."
The move is the latest development highlighting the plunging fortunes of Japan's once world-beating electronics firms.
