The government upgraded its view on business sentiment for the first time in two months in December as a central bank survey showed broad recovery in the corporate mood thanks to upbeat profits.
But the Cabinet Office, in a report on Tuesday, left the overall economic assessment unchanged for the month, saying the economy, the world's third largest, was "recovering moderately although some areas stalled recently."
"Business sentiment is improving," said the report, upgrading its previous assessment that it was improving moderately as a whole.