The Japanese economy expanded at an annualized rate of 0.2 percent in the three months through December in inflation-adjusted terms, up from preliminary data, the government data showed Friday.

The latest figure, revised upward from the 0.4 percent annualized contraction presented in the preliminary report on Feb. 14, indicated that the country's economy is slowly recovering.

The October-December real gross domestic product was flat on quarter, compared with a 0.1 percent quarter-to-quarter fall in the initial report, the cabinet office said.

GDP is the total value of goods and services produced domestically.