Capital spending by Japanese companies rose 5.7 percent in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, government data showed Friday.
Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment increased for the ninth straight quarter, totaling ¥12.05 trillion.
Pretax profits at companies covered in the Finance Ministry's survey fell 7.0 percent to ¥19.48 trillion. Sales climbed 3.7 percent to ¥371.62 trillion.
The Cabinet Office is scheduled to release revised gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2018 on March 8, taking into account the latest capital spending figures.
Preliminary GDP data showed the world's third-largest economy grew an annualized real 1.4 percent in the quarter, recovering modestly from a string of natural disasters in the summer.