Capital spending by Japanese manufacturers in the October-December quarter plunged 34.5 percent from a year earlier despite a strong pickup in profits, Finance Ministry data showed Thursday.
Their spending, which amounted to ¥2.83 trillion, has been slumping for six consecutive quarters, and the drop is the second-largest since comparable data became available in the July-September quarter of 2002.
The decline, however, was smaller than the record 40.7 percent drop logged in the previous quarter, the corporate survey said. The survey is a key data source used to revise the gross domestic product, which is due for release March 11.