Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.4 percent in the October-December quarter, government data showed Thursday, signaling only a modest recovery from a string of natural disasters in the summer that cast doubt on its durability.
The expansion in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced, followed a revised 2.6 percent contraction in July-September. It beat the average forecast of 1.19 percent growth made by private-sector economists polled by Kyodo News.
Compared with the previous quarter, the world's third-largest economy grew a real 0.3 percent, according to preliminary figures from the Cabinet Office.