Japan's economy shrank less in the first three months of this year than initially reported, thanks mainly to an upward revision in corporate capital investment.

The Cabinet Office says Gross Domestic Product contracted 1.8 percent in inflation-adjusted annualized terms from the previous quarter. The preliminary reading was minus 2.0 percent.

The negative growth in the January-March period was the first contraction in two quarters.

Capital investment was revised up to minus 0.4 percent from minus 0.8. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of GDP, was unchanged at minus 0.7 percent.

Exports performed slightly worse than preliminary data showed. They came in one-tenth of a point lower at minus 5.1 percent, while imports were one-tenth of a point better at minus 3.3 percent.

Analysts are watching to see if recent wage hikes and fixed-amount tax cuts taking effect from June can boost consumption even as prices continue to rise.