MNI POLICY: Japan Govt Keeps Economic View Unchanged

Japan's government on Thursday left its economic assessment unchanged for a second straight month, noting the "economy is still in a severe situation due to the Novel Coronavirus, but it is showing movements of picking up recently."

Following recent data, the government upgraded its assessment of exports and production, both for the second straight month, noting that "exports show movements of picking up." The previous view was "exports are bottoming out."

It also said that industrial production "shows movement of picking up in some sectors."

TWEAKS CORPORATE PROFITS

The government tweaked its assessment on corporate profits, for the first time in four months, noting they are decreasing "substantially," due to the influence of the infectious disease.

The government largely left its near-term outlook unchanged, saying that the economy is expected to show movements of picking up, supported by the effects of the policies "and improvement in overseas economies" while the socio-economic activities will be resumed as measures are taken to prevent the spread of the infectious disease.

It also said that however, "attention should be given to the risk that domestic and overseas infections would affect economies. Also, full attention should be given to the effects of fluctuations in the financial and capital markets."