Bank of Japan says economic recovery continues
The Bank of
Japan said today that the Japanese economy continues to recover, despite the release of economic data yesterday that shows the country was in economic recession for most of last year.
Exports generally reamined flat, while a tapering off of demand in the information technology sector reportedly kept industrial output soft.
Meanwhile, both corporate and capital spending and the labor market showed improvements last year, said the central bank.
In contrast to economists' assessment that
Japan had once again entered a recession, the Bank of
Japan maintains that the economic data suggest only a slight contraction in the last three quarters of 2004, mainly due to slower exports and weak
consumption.