Japan sees 3.5 pct GDP growth in 2005

TOKYO, July 21 (UPI) -- Japan's economic growth next fiscal year beginning April 2005 should reach 3.5 percent, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.

The government upwardly revised its forecast of the nation's gross domestic product growth rate from 1.8 percent. If the estimate proves true, it will be the biggest growth period Japan has seen since 1996, when GDP reached 3.6 percent, the government said.

One key factor for the upward revision was the continued success of companies in restructuring their finances, cutting costs, and improving productivity, the government said.