Japan Govt Keeps Economic View Unchanged

December 20, 2018

Tokyo--The Japanese government left its basic economic assessment unchanged in its monthly report released on Thursday, while downgrading its view on public investment for the first time in 12 months.

"The Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace," said the December report. The government showed the same overview for the 12th consecutive month.

In the report, the government said that public investment is showing signs of weakness recently. The previous November report cited a firm note in public-sector investment.

The downward revision reflected recent weaker public investment-related data, with the value of public works projects continuing to fall, an official of the Cabinet Office said.

Thanks to the first and second supplementary budgets for the current fiscal year through March, however, "public investment is expected to recover gradually," the official said.

Private consumption is "picking up," business investment is "increasing" and the employment is "improving steadily," the government said in the December report, keeping its assessments on the sectors unchanged.

Meanwhile, the government altered the wording for its view on goods and services trade to note a recent increase in the country's trade deficit and that on producer prices to point out that the pace of their growth is slowing recently.

Looking ahead, the report said that the economy is expected to "continue recovering" on the back of policy effects and improvements in the employment and income situations. Jiji Press