Gov`t revises upward real Gov't revises upward real GDP growth rate for FY 2007 to 1.9%+for FY 2007 to 1.9%

TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo - Japan on Tuesday revised upward the nation's real gross domestic product growth rate for fiscal 2007 to 1.9 percent from a preliminary estimate of 1.7 percent, based on bigger-than-expected corporate capital investment and government
consumption.
The result confirmed that Japan posted real GDP growth for the sixth year in a
row since fiscal 2002. The Cabinet Office also upgraded the nominal GDP growth
rate for the business year to March 31 this year to 1.0 percent from 0.7
percent.
The office reexamined the GDP data by incorporating newly available indicators,
such as industrial statistics.
It found that private-sector capital investment in factories and equipment
expanded 2.3 percent in real terms in fiscal 2007, compared with an earlier
projected 0.1 percent decline.
The office also said government spending for personnel costs and petty expenses
gained a real 2.2 percent in the previous fiscal year, up from an earlier
estimate of 0.7 percent.
In contrast, the recalculation showed that private consumption advanced a real
0.9 percent in fiscal 2007, growing slower than a preliminary estimate of 1.7
percent.
It also showed that public investment dropped 5.8 percent in real terms in the
business year to the end of March, falling at a faster pace than 1.8 percent
projected earlier.
The GDP deflator, a key inflation gauge, slipped 0.9 percent in fiscal 2007,
revised slightly upward from the initially estimated 1.0 percent.
GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically. Real GDP
figures are adjusted for price and seasonal variations.
At a time of deflation, real GDP growth figures are higher than nominal growth
data. The office confirmed that Japan's real GDP growth rate exceeded the
nominal rate for 10 years since fiscal 1998.
The government also reexamined the real fiscal 2006 GDP growth rate and revised
downward the figure from 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent, reflecting
weaker-than-expected personal spending.
The nominal GDP growth rate for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, was also
downgraded from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent.
==Kyodo