Industrial production in Japan rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7 percent in May from the previous month, signaling the Japanese economy is recovering from supply chain disruptions and infrastructure damage caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said in a preliminary report on Wednesday.

The 5.7 percent rise was better than economists' consensus forecasts for a 5.5 percent increase and follows a 1.6 percent gain logged in April.

According to METI, the index of output at factories and mines stood at 88.8 against the base of 100 for 2005, with the index of industrial shipments gaining 5.3 percent to 87.2 and the index of industrial inventories rising 5.1 percent to 103.2.

The ministry noted that recovering output of automobiles -- particularly passenger cars and trucks -- contributed significantly to May's gain, while the increased output of communications devices also provided marked support along with rising production of general machinery and chemicals.

The official government data suggested that factory output would continue to rise in June by around 5.5 percent, although the forecast fell shy of a previous outlook for a 7.7 percent increase, however the government indicated that the pace of output from Japan's factories would slow rapidly in July, edging up just 0.5 percent. (Xinhua)