Japan's industrial output extended gains in April as manufacturers benefited from a recovery in appetite for capital goods, especially in key overseas markets.
The world's third-largest economy is expected to grow in the current quarter at a much slower pace than previously thought, after the government extended COVID-19 emergency measures in Tokyo and other major areas.
Separate data on Monday showed that retail sales, a key gauge of consumer spending, surged in April, thanks largely to favorable statistical base effects from a year earlier, when the country was under even stricter COVID-19 curbs.