Japan will soon revise up its growth forecast of 1.8 percent for the fiscal year that started in April, but it is still unclear when deflation will be eradicated, a senior government official said on Monday.
"We are expecting an upward revision ... that could be earlier" than September, when the Cabinet Office usually revises the numbers, Takeshi Erikawa, vice minister at the government's Cabinet Office, said in an interview with Reuters.
The figure, although officially called the Cabinet Office's calculation, is generally seen as a revision of the government's official growth forecast.
Japan's economy grew a real 1.5 percent in the January-March quarter after 1.8 percent growth in the three months to December. Gross domestic product (GDP) for fiscal 2003/04 was 3.2 percent.
Some private economists expect growth of 3 to 4 percent this fiscal year, given high projections for the April-June quarter because of strong growth in the previous three months.
Asked what would constitute Japan having overcome deflation, which the government aims to eradicate by fiscal 2005/06, Erikawa said it would be a "comprehensive decision" based on consumer prices, wholesale prices and the GDP deflator.