Japan GDP grows up to 4.1%

Japan's economy grew faster than initially estimated in the January-March on stronger corporate capital spending, when its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded at 4.1 percent in the first quarter, the government said Monday. These figures are higher than a preliminary ones of 3.5 percent released last month, according to the Cabinet Office. On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.0 percent in the three months ended March 31 from the previous quarter. It moved upward of an initial reading of 0.9 percent expansion, marking the fastest pace of growth in a year. Corporate capital spending, a key pillar of domestic demand, was revised upward to a 0.3 percent fall from a 0.7 percent decline in the preliminary data. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's GDP, was unchanged at 0.9 percent rise. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in December, has promoted his ambitious economic policies called "Abenomics" platform to boost Japan's economy, which is focusing on easing monetary policy by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and massive government spending. The BOJ decided in April to double the monetary base and the purchases of government bonds in two years to overcome the country's deflation that has lasted for nearly 15 years.