Slumping corporate spending and exports caused the economy to slow to a crawl in the July-September period, with real gross domestic product expanding just 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, Cabinet Office data showed Friday.
Steady consumer spending on plasma televisions, DVDs and air conditioners kept the economy from shrinking, allowing Japan to mark its sixth consecutive quarter of growth, officials said.
Nominal GDP -- the figure before factoring in price falls -- showed no change from the previous quarter.