Tokyo: Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers reached a four-year high in December, reflecting reduced uncertainty surrounding US tariff policy, the Bank of Japan survey revealed on Monday. The central bank's quarterly survey indicated that business sentiment among large manufacturers, including automakers and electronics producers in the world's third-largest economy, rose to plus 15 in December, up from plus 14 in the previous September survey.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the reading marked the highest level since December 2021 and showed improvement for the third consecutive quarter. The headline index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies with negative expectations from those with positive outlooks, resulting in a positive number when optimists outnumber pessimists. The central bank's "tankan," which translates to short-term economic outlook, is Japan's most closely monitored index of business confidence.
Confidence among large retailers, banks, real estate companies, and other non-manufacturers remained steady at plus 34, unchanged from three months earlier, as reported by the central bank. Looking forward, large manufacturers anticipate their business sentiment index to remain unchanged in the next March survey, while large non-manufacturers expect a decline of six points to plus 28.
The latest survey was conducted from November 11 to December 12 and included 8,836 companies, with a response rate of 99.4 percent.