Economists are projecting that the economy grew at an annualized rate of around 3 percent in the three months to June, surpassing the government's growth target for raising the consumption tax next April.
The projections, offered in terms of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, were revealed in a Kyodo survey.
The latest supplementary budget and improving corporate earnings were cited as factors leading to the projected growth. If the government's preliminary GDP reading, due out Aug. 12, turns out to be in line with the average projection of the surveyed economists, it will encourage Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to go ahead with the planned consumption tax hike.