Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 4.2 percent from a year ago in the July-September period, the Finance Ministry said Friday, reinforcing the view that the economy remains on a moderate recovery trend.
Business investment by all nonfinancial sectors on plants, equipment and other purposes stood at ¥10.79 trillion ($96 billion), marking the fourth straight quarter of gain.
Pretax profits at businesses covered in the latest poll increased 5.5 percent to ¥17.89 trillion, a record-high for July-September, helped by the yen's depreciation, according to the quarterly data.