Japan's 'tankan' economy survey shows improved sentiment

Japanese manufacturers’ sentiments improved for first time in three years, a quarterly Bank of Japan survey showed Thursday, as nation grappled with stagnation worsened by coronavirus pandemic. heline measure for “tankan,” tracking sentiment among large manufacturers, stood at minus 27, an improvement of seven points from previous survey that came out in July.

tankan measures corporate sentiment by subtracting number of companies saying business conditions are negative from those responding y are positive. That measure h declined for six quarters straight, to an 11-year low, before Thursday’s report. Sentiment among large nmanufacturers improved by five points to minus 12.

Despite some positive signs in tankan, numbers are still in minus range, meaning pessimism is still rampant in Japan Inc. and world’s third-largest ecomy has a long way to go before it’s on a solid growth track. Worries also remain about a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Japan has never h a total lockdown, and businesses have been trying to return to rmal with mask-wearing and social-distancing measures.

pandemic has squelched overseas tourism, which h sustained ecomic activity in recent years. Although exports have been falling in recent months, re are some signs of a recovery as overseas demand picks up. Bank of Japan has continued to pump ample cash into system. government has doled out cash handouts to encour consumer spending. 

(Im Credits: AP)

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