Japanese businesses say they are confident of returning to pre-pandemic levels

A key Japanese survey showed on Thursday that major manufacturers were optimistic for the first time since the start of the pandemic , marking a further improvement in corporate sentiment after a plunge in business confidence last year, with confidence rising to pre-pandemic levels.

According to the Bank of Japan's Tankan business survey , a quarterly survey of about 10,000 companies , the index for large manufacturers was 5 , meaning more manufacturers believe the business environment is favorable.

The now upbeat reading surpassed the consensus estimate of -1 and marked the first positive reading since September 2019 , after the coronavirus began wreaking havoc on the world economy .

The index was -10 when the survey was conducted three months ago, up from -27 in September and -34 in June, the lowest level since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

The short-term business sentiment survey is considered the broadest indicator of current conditions for Japanese companies after the country lifted a state of emergency in the Tokyo area on March 22. Despite a surge in infections this winter, Japan has had a relatively small overall outbreak, with about 9,000 deaths, and has avoided sweeping lockdowns like other countries.

However, the number of new cases is gradually rising in Tokyo and faster in some other areas, raising concerns about a fourth wave of the epidemic.

It is understood that now that coronavirus infections have rebounded sharply, part of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay scheduled for the western Japanese city later this month should be canceled.

Japan's economy has plummeted after the coronavirus , with the government last year announcing several billion-dollar stimulus packages to prop up the world's third-largest economy .

In December, China approved a new stimulus package of more than $700 billion to fund projects ranging from anti-coronavirus measures to green technology, its third such package this fiscal year.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Japan's economic growth slowed to 2.8%, and in 2020, Japan's economy shrank by 4.8%, the first annual contraction since 2009.

Judging from the data, the Japanese economy has indeed experienced difficult times, and Japan's attitude towards restarting the economy has become increasingly urgent. If the epidemic is well controlled in the future, the Japanese economy may gradually recover.

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