The economy returned to growth in the fourth quarter, the Cabinet Office announced Friday, bolstering Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign to end 15 years of deflation and jump-start economic growth.
Gross domestic product rose an annualized 0.2 percent in the three months through December, compared with a preliminary calculation of a 0.4 percent contraction, the Cabinet Office said. The figure growth matched the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 24 economists.
In a separate release, the Finance Ministry said Japan's current account deficit in January stood at ¥364.8 billion.