Japan downgraded its real GDP growth figure Friday for the July-September quarter to 0.2 percent from the previously reported 0.4 percent.

The revised data for gross domestic product in the reporting quarter translate into an annualized expansion of just 1 percent, as opposed to the 1.7 percent seen earlier, the Cabinet Office said.

The government and many private-sector economists insisted, however, that the economic outlook remains rosy, citing steady domestic demand.