TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Japanese companies cut spending on plant and equipment by 13.0 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, a Ministry of Finance survey showed on Thursday.
The data, closely watched as it will be included in revised gross domestic product (GDP) data out next week, came after a preliminary estimate showed Japan's economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter in July-September, meeting a widely used definition of recession.
The ministry started to include financial holding firms in calculating the data from the April-June figures.
Under the old standard, capital spending also fell 13.0 percent in July-September from a year earlier, compared with a median consensus forecast of a 10.0 percent decline.
The fall in the headline spending figure has been exaggerated by a change in accounting rules on leasing.
Excluding investment by leasing companies, capital spending fell 4.2 percent.
Preliminary GDP data showed Japan's economy shrank a real 0.1 percent in July-September, following a 0.9 percent contraction in April-June. Revised GDP figures are due out at 8:50 a.m. on Dec. 9 (2350 GMT Dec. 8). (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano)