People walk on pedestrian crossings in the Shibuya area of Tokyo early this year.
The Bank of Japan’s Tankan business survey, a quarterly poll of about 10,000 companies, showed a reading of 5 among big manufacturers. The upbeat reading beat a market consensus estimate of minus 1 and is the first positive reading since September 2019, before the coronavirus began to wreak havoc on the world’s economy.
Despite a spike in Covid-19 infections over the winter, Japan has seen a comparatively small outbreak overall with around 9,000 deaths, and has avoided imposing the blanket lockdowns seen in other countries.
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