Tokyo  - Japanese industrial investment fell a record 32 per cent in the April-to-June quarter from the same quarter a year ago, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

The record decline in capital expenditures showed that the world's second-largest economy is still far from a self-sustaining recovery although it officially emerged from recession in the same quarter with preliminary figures showing growth in its gross domestic product at an annualized 3.7 percent.

The ministry said the fall in investment was the biggest since the third quarter of 2002.

Capital expenditure by Japanese firms in the non-finance sector fell by 21.7 per cent in the April-June quarter compared to the same period last year. It was the ninth quarter in succession that investments had fallen.

Across the sectors, expenditure fell 22.6 per cent compared with the previous year, the ministry said. (dpa)