"There are some bright spots here and there, but overall, the economy remains weak and we can't be optimistic"
- Japanese Cabinet Office
The world's third biggest economy is expected to remain weak in the next several months, as investors are not showing their willingness to invest into Japanese economy. The nation's government kept its view of the economy unchanged in December, after a four-month-long run of downgrades. Despite the fact that the economy slipped into its fourth recession since 2000, a recovery may be expected, as domestic demand is getting stronger on the back of reconstruction spending following last year's earthquake and the overall improvement in the global economy. The BoJ has already extended its asset-purchase programme, which is aimed at keeping borrowing costs down, by 10 trillion yen ($119bn; £73bn) to a total of 76 trillion yen in order to stimulate flagging economy.
"There are some bright spots here and there, but overall, the economy remains weak and we can't be optimistic," a Cabinet Office official in charge of compiling the report said in a cautious assessment of the world's third-largest economy.
"It's not like we're seeing a huge improvement in manufacturing, but the downtrend in production of cars and electric equipment used in smartphones and tablets has paced down slightly," a Cabinet Office official said.
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