Major Japanese manufacturers plan to spend 21.8 percent more on capital investment than they did in fiscal 2005, stretching the double-digit uptrend to a fourth consecutive year, the Development Bank of Japan said Wednesday.

As of June, big manufacturers surveyed by the governmental bank had set aside 10.15 trillion yen in capital outlays for fiscal 2006, the DBJ said. The response rate for the survey was not provided.

The last time four years of double-digit spending by manufacturers was observed was during the "Izanagi" economic boom in the late 1960s.

The bullish spending plans are being driven by brisk demand for flat-screen TVs and other digital products and by the global expansion of Japanese automakers.

Plans for domestic investment are eclipsing those for overseas investment because manufacturers are upgrading domestic facilities to support overseas operations and promoting production of value-added products in Japan.

On an all-industry basis, the capital investments planned so far are being valued at 24.78 trillion yen, up 12.9 percent and the first double-digit increase since fiscal 1990.