TOKYO, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Thursday upgraded its overall assessment of the economy for the first time in six months, owing to a gradual improvement in private consumption and capital spending.
In its monthly economic report the Cabinet Office stated, "The Japanese economy is experiencing a moderate recovery," opting to omit a previous reference to "delayed improvement in part can be seen."
As for private consumption, which accounts for 60 percent of Japan's gross domestic product and has persistently weighed on the world's third largest economy, the government raised its view for the first time in three months, saying that it has been "picking up."
The same upgraded assessment was given for capital spending, which improved for the first time in four months in the recording period, but had been another major component of the economy that had stagnated as both domestic and overseas demand had waned causing industrial output here to be curtailed, triggering hazy growth outlooks for businesses here.
However, the government last month was less pessimistic about both components, saying that private consumption and business investment showed "movements of picking up."
A government official was quoted Thursday as saying these upticks would be sustainable if the labor market continued to show signs of improvement and household incomes continued to chart an upward trajectory, as has been the case.
"We decided to upgrade the assessment because we confirmed, to a certain degree, the sustainability of a modest recovery in private consumption," a Cabinet Office official said.
As for private consumption, Japan's central bank also lifted its assessment for the first time in six months on Friday, owing to an improving job market and inflation moderately improving.
"It is taking long to turn around Japan's deflationary mindset because the country has been mired in deflation for a long time," Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told a news conference recently.
The central bank also raised its economic assessment and increased its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the 2017-18 fiscal year to 1.6 percent from the 1.5 percent forecast in January.
"Japan's economy has been turning toward a moderate expansion. Overseas economies have continued to grow at a moderate pace on the whole," the BOJ said in its most recent statement.
In its latest assessment the Cabinet Office also raised its assessment on housing construction and public investment, while maintaining its view that exports and output are picking up.
Japan's economy is still struggling, however, to reach a 2 percent inflation target set by the central bank and uncertainties remain regarding the direction of overseas economies and protectionist policies.
According to the latest statistics, Japan's core consumer price index for April rose 0.3 percent on year to 100.1, marking the fourth straight month of increase, but the rate of increase is still far from the central bank's target of 2 percent annual inflation.
"We're recently seeing some data showing inflation expectations not just bottoming out but heading higher. But we can't say yet that inflation expectations have completely turned positive...At some point, we expect underlying inflation and inflation expectations to heighten. But that will take some time," Kuroda said recently.
As for the outlook for the global economy, the Cabinet Office said, "Attention should be given to uncertainty in overseas economies and the effects of fluctuations in financial and capital markets."
