The economy grew 0.6 percent in the January-March quarter for the ninth consecutive quarter of growth after corporate spending slowed, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report released Thursday.
Gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country, grew at an annualized rate of 2.4 percent in the quarter, the government said.
The figure is about half of the revised 1.2 percent rise or 5.0 percent annualized gain for the October-December quarter.