Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) grew an annualized real 4.1 percent in the January-March period this year, government said Thursday.

The nation's GDP reading in the recording quarter corresponds to an expansion of 1.0 percent from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said in a report.

Thursday's result beats an average forecast of 3.3 percent expansion by private-sector analysts in a Kyodo News survey.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60 percent of the nation's GDP, climbed 1.1 percent in the three months. Household expenditure on durable goods including cars surged under a government subsidy program for purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles.

In March alone, new vehicle sales in the country rocketed 78.2 percent year-on-year, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. The sales of new autos, which excluded mini vehicles stood at 497,959 units in March, up from 279,389 units in the same month last year.

Corporate capital spending dropped 3.9 percent, while the public investment increased 5.4 percent, indicating the accelerated reconstruction efforts in quake-hit areas.

Government spending and the demand driven by reconstruction had been considered key factors for the economic growth. Japan has been recovering from devastating earthquake and tsunami disasters that hit its northeastern prefectures in the year.

The world's third-largest economy was also battered by the massive flooding in Thailand that disrupted the supply chains of Japanese manufacturers, and an appreciated yen which eroded the profits of export-linked sectors.

Exports of goods and services posted a growth of 2.9 percent, while those imported climbed 1.9 percent in the quarter.

For the fiscal year of 2011 which ended in March, the nation's GDP was down 0.01 percent, which contrasted sharply with a 3.2 percent expansion in the previous year.

The fall was largely attributed to slowing exports in the fiscal year, when Japan's trade deficit stood at 4.41 trillion yen (about 54. 9 billion U.S. dollars), the worst ever reading for the country.