Capital spending by Japanese companies grew 14.4 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Friday, fueling hopes that Japan's economic growth data for the third quarter will be revised upward.
It marks the sixth straight quarterly increase.
It was also the highest rate of rise for a second straight quarter since the ministry adopted the current calculation method in the July-September period of 2001. Capital spending rose 10.7 percent in the previous quarter.