Japan Economy Watchers Sentiment Worsens for 2nd Straight Month

Tokyo, Jan. 13 (Jiji Press)–Sentiment among so-called economy watchers in Japan worsened for two months in a row in December as the indexes for household activity and corporate activity declined, a Cabinet Office survey showed Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted diffusion index for economy watchers’ sentiment on current conditions fell 0.1 point from the previous month to 48.6. The government agency maintained its view that the Japanese economy is “picking up.” The survey showed that a shop official in the Kyushu southwestern region said consumer appetite faltered largely due to rising prices. An official working in the communications industry in the Chugoku western region saw little progress in passing higher costs on to customers, according to the survey. A hotel official in the Tokai central region said demand from China is decreasing because of tensions between Tokyo and Beijing but pointed to solid demand for sightseeing and business purposes. The outlook DI for economic conditions two to three months ahead climbed 0.2 point to 50.5 thanks to improvement in the indexes for corporate activity and employment. There were more comments from economy watchers about interest rates and rate increases by the Bank of Japan. A financial industry official in the Kyushu region expressed concern over the impact of rising interest rates on corporate financing and loan repayments by individual borrowers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]