Japan's economy grew an annualized real 1.9 percent in the October-December period, the government said in a report on Friday.

According to the Cabinet Office, the 1.9 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 compares to an earlier forecast of the economy expanding by 1.4 percent.

The government said that increased capital spending underpinned economic growth in the October-December period.

The latest quarter of expansion follows the economy here contracting in the July-September period as a result of a number of natural disasters in Japan.

Economic growth in Japan, in terms of real gross domestic product which equates to the the total value of goods and services produced here and adjusted for inflation, translated to a 0.5 percent increase from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office also said.