However, in the wake of the 2008 global crisis, growth for 2009 was only 0.9 percent, but rebounded to 8.8 percent the following year.

Q. Do you think that the growth in advertising expenditures, which has been sluggish, can rebound?

Economic growth has rebounded strongly in the current quarter but appears likely to moderate to a more sustainable pace.

And if growth doesn't magically rebound in 2013 and 2014, it will have to borrow an even greater amount.

If growth does not rebound, some of the assumptions of the late boom could come under question, leading to greater investor disenchantment with the stock market.

It assumed that economic growth next year would rebound to 3.2 percent, at the high end of what private economists predict.

Without a recovery in the real estate market, which helped power Japan's phenomenal growth in the 1980's, the economy will probably not rebound strongly, analysts say.

But growth in retail sales rebounded to 18.1% in December, from 17.1% the previous month.

"Then growth should rebound in the first quarter back into the region of 4 percent."

"Economic growth has rebounded strongly in the current quarter," it said, adding that growth appeared "likely to moderate to a more sustainable pace."