A key gauge of the economy rose above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in April for the first time in three months, the government said Wednesday.
The index of coincident economic indicators came to 77.8 percent, shooting up from a revised 9.1 percent for March, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report.
A reading above 50 percent is considered as a sign of economic expansion and a figure below that line is seen as a sign of contraction.
Of the 11 economic indicators used to calculate the coincident index, nine were available for the preliminary report, of which seven, including data on the country's industrial output and large-lot electricity use, posted positive readings, the Cabinet Office said.
The index of leading indicators, predicting economic developments six months down the road, stood at 50.0 percent, unchanged from a revised 50.0 percent in the previous month.