And we haven't seen the bottom of this yet, since merchants expect conditions to deteriorate in the next two to three months. The outlook index fell to 38.8, the lowest since March 2003, from 43.1 in October, and the Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment for the index for a second month, saying that sentiment is "very weak" having described it simply as "weak" in October.
And confidence at small businesses, which employ more than half of the Japan's workforce, is deteriorating according to an index of sentiment published by the Shoko Chukin Bank. This survey is carried out among small and midsized companies, and fell to 46.9 in November, the eighth straight month pessimists outnumbered optimists.
