Japan first-quarter corporate capex up 4.5 percent - MOF

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese companies raised spending on plant and equipment in January-March by 4.5 percent from the same period last year, Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Thursday.

Excluding software, capital expenditure grew 1.3 percent from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, the MOF data showed.

The data will be used to calculate revised gross domestic product figures due on June 8. The reading followed a preliminary estimate that Japan's economy grew an annualised 2.2 percent underpinned by exports and private consumption.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)