TOKYO: For the first time in three years, Japanese firms feeling better about business conditions outnumbered those that were gloomy in September, a Bank of Japan (BoJ) survey showed yesterday, but the meteoric rise of the yen could erode much of that confidence in the months ahead.
In the latest sign that Japans economy is emerging from a decade of stagnation, the key diffusion index for major manufacturers in the BoJs tankan corporate sentiment survey rose to plus one last month from minus five in June.