Just to follow up briefly on yesterday's post, the results of the latest Tankan index of manufacturer sentiment is now out, and it shows that confidence among major Japanese manufacturers fell to its lowest level in more than four years as the plunging dollar in this quarter. The closely watched quarterly central bank "tankan" survey, released this morning, showed a fallll to 11, eight points lower than the 19 registered in last December's survey and the lowest score since December 2003.
The figure is a composite representing the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good less those saying conditions are unfavorable. Of particular significance the tankan found Japanese companies plan to significantly reduce capital expenditures in the coming fiscal year. Since the Japanese economy is largely driven by export sales and the capital expenditure necessary to back them up this is not good news.
Japan Real Time Charts and Data
Edward Hugh is only able to update this blog from time to time, but he does run a lively Twitter account with plenty of Japan related comment. He also maintains a collection of constantly updated Japan data charts with short updates on a Storify dedicated page Is Japan Once More Back in Deflation?
