Japan reports its economy grew at a better than expected 1.7 per cent annual pace in March, as higher government outlays helped offset weakness in business investment and exports.
The Cabinet Office reported on Wednesday that the quarterly pace of GDP growth for the world's third-largest economy was 0.4 per cent.
Most economists had forecast that growth would be flat at best.
Private consumption, which accounts for Japan's largest share of growth, rose by an anemic 0.5 per cent, while public demand expanded by 2.6 per cent. Business investment and spending on housing declined.
Despite the upbeat first quarter figures, recent weak data have raised expectations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may put off a planned sales tax increase due in April 2017 to prevent further disruptions, given the faltering progress toward a sustained recovery.
