A woman wearing a protective face mask walks past a sign for a sale at a shopping district in Tokyo, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, Japan August 17, 2020. — Reuters pic
The short-term business sentiment survey reports the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those that see conditions as unfavourable. “The sharp rebound in the Q4 Tankan supports our view that Japan's economy will rebound relatively swiftly from the dislocation caused by the pandemic,” said Tom Learmouth, Economist at Capital Economics in a commentary.
“We think the BoJ will explain that the economy continues to need policy support, especially with higher uncertainty due to the arrival of a third wave of infections,” UBS economists Masamichi Adachi and Go Kurihara said in a report.