The
The index for large-scale non-manufacturers, including the service sector, hit a 33-year high at plus 34 points, up two points from the last report in December.
The tankan, carried out every three months, surveys about 9,000 Japanese companies and measures corporate sentiment by subtracting the number of companies saying business conditions are negative from those saying they are positive.
The optimism among the non-manufacturing businesses reflects the return of tourism, both overseas and domestic, which had been hurt by the pandemic. Incoming travelers have recently outpaced pre-pandemic levels.
The downturn in the views among manufacturers reflects production stoppages at
The Japanese economy has tended to stagnate in recent years, with slow wage increases as well as deflation, or the continuous sliding down of prices, rather than the inflation affecting some parts of the world.
Another negative has been soaring energy prices.
The weakening currency has also hurt some sectors. The
A weak yen works as a plus for encouraging tourism. It also helps exporters, like
The
The bank has an inflation target of 2% that it uses as a benchmark for whether
The tankan report's forecast for future sentiment among large manufacturers stood at 10, while the index for large non-manufacturers was 27, both lower than the levels reported Monday.
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