Japan's economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the April-June period. The performance is slightly ahead of expectations and confirms the end of the country¿s recession.
According to official data, the revised gross domestic product (GDP) figure, compared with an initial estimate last month of 0.5 per cent, was up on the previous quarter and marked the first economic expansion in five quarters.
On an annualised basis, growth was revised to a real 2.6 per cent from 1.9 per cent.
Ms Katsuki Oda, director of the Department of National Accounts, said an upward revision in private capital investment after the release of corporate data from the finance ministry was one of the main factors behind the slightly higher GDP figure.
A downward revision in imports, and hence a slightly higher contribution from net exports, also helped push up overall GDP in the second quarter, Ms Katsuki added.
The figures, however, provide little reprieve for policymakers who are struggling to sustain the rebound.
"The data was a touch stronger than expected but it is not really enough to have any significant impact on the outlook," said Mr Peter Morgan, chief economist at HSBC Securities in Tokyo.
"We are still looking for the short-term cyclical pick-up to continue, driven primarily by exports, and that should lead to some kind of bottoming-out in capital spending by the end of this year. But the recovery is likely to be relatively short-lived as exports start to fall next year," Mr Morgan said.