Business Confidence Remains High in Japan

Business sentiment in Japan remained positive for a third straight quarter, adding to evidence that the Japanese economy may be pulling out of its worst slump in decades. The Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey revealed that business confidence among executives at large Japanese manufacturers was plus 10 in the October-December quarter, unchanged from the previous three months and up from plus 3 in the April-through-June period. Sentiment had improved for seven straight quarters through September. Still, the figure for large manufacturers was slightly less than the plus 11 forecast on average by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. The world’s second-largest economy grew an anemic 0.6% in the fiscal year ended March 31 after two consecutive years of contraction. Gross domestic product is on track to grow a modest 1% for the fiscal year through March 2001.