REPEAT: MNI 5 THINGS: Japan Apr Consumer Confidence Dips

--Japan Apr Consumer Confidence Index 43.6 Vs Mar 44.3

--Japan Govt downgrades View: Consumer Confidence weaker

     TOKYO (MNI) - The key points from the latest monthly Consumer Confidence

Survey of households with two or more people conducted on April 15 and released

by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday.

     * Japan's consumer confidence index fell 0.7 point to 43.6 in April on a

seasonally adjusted basis, posting the first month-on-month drop after being

unchanged in March, hit by higher electricity and gas bills as well as price

hikes by delivery service firms and some fast-food chains. Households are also

believed to be concerned about a continued decline in real income amid slow

nominal wage growth.

     * The government downgraded its assessment for the first time in two

months, saying, "Consumer confidence is weaker," Last month it said confidence

was marking time. The three-month moving average of the confidence index posted

the third straight drop in April. "But the level of the index is still fairly

high. It is not falling sharply," a Cabinet Office official said.

     * Consumers were more pessimistic about all of the four key aspects that

affect their sentiment -- overall economic well-being, income gains, job

prospects and whether it would be a good time to buy durable goods over the next

six months.

     * The index on asset prices, which is not one of the sub-indexes used to

calculate overall consumer confidence, showed the first month-on-month rise in

three months, up 0.6 point in April after falling 0.8 point the previous month.

     * The survey also showed that the public's inflation expectations for 12

months ahead marked the first rise in three months. The share of those

projecting price rises increased to 82.3% in April from 79.8% in March. The

share of respondents forecasting lower prices decreased to 2.9% from 3.6%.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-4670-5309; email: max.sato@marketnews.com