Japan revises down July-Sept growth to 0.3%

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan on Monday revised down its economic growth for the three months to September to 0.3 per cent from an initial estimate of 0.5 per cent.

The latest figures were a marked slowdown from 0.9 per cent growth in the previous quarter for the world's third-biggest economy.

On an annualised basis, which stretches the data across a full year, growth was 1.1 per cent in the quarter against an initial reading of 1.9 per cent.

A turndown in corporate capital spending was largely to blame for the downward revision.

The figures underscore the challenges of keeping up momentum in Tokyo's bid to stoke the long-slumbering economy.

Some economists predict the Japanese economy will pick up pace toward the year end, but they remain divided over whether the government's stimulus policies will cement lasting growth.

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