MNI: Japan Govt Ups Overall Econ View As Jobs, Spending Noted

Japan's government upgraded its main economic assessment for the first time since July 2020 and also upgraded its views on private spending and employment, the Cabinet Office said on Tuesday.

The Japanese economy has shown "movements of picking up recently as” the severe situation due to the novel coronavirus is gradually easing, the government said.

The upward revision of private consumption, the first since November 2021, was consistent with the BOJ’s decision of upgrading its assessment last week, see: MNI STATE OF PLAY: BOJ Stays Covid Easy As Policy Lags Big CBs.

The previous view was “private consumption shows movements of picking up, while some weakness remains.”

It also said that job offers are on the upswing, while weakness remains due to the influence of the infectious disease. The upward revision is the first since September 2020. Meanwhile, the government downgraded its assessment on capital investment, for the first since November 2020, and on housing investment, for the first since September 2019.

It also affirmed its assessment for business investment picking up.

As for the near-term view, the government said that the economy is expected to show movements of picking up, supported by the effects of the policies and improvement in overseas economies while “economic and social activities move toward normalisation.”

However, it maintained its cautious view, including the impact of supply disruptions and high material prices, saying that full attention should be given up to the further increase in downside risks due to supply-side constrains and raw material prices.

It also said that attention should be given to pandemic effects, including Omicron on the Japanese and overseas economies and fluctuations in the financial and capital markets.