The government said Monday its leading, coincident and lagging economic indexes all slipped below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in November for the first time in 23 months.

The Cabinet Office said it had revised down its leading economic index for November to 33.3 percent from a preliminary 57.1 percent, pushing it below the crucial line for the first time in six months.

The office traced the downward revision to minus figures in the inventory index and machinery orders, which were not available in the preliminary report.

The leading index is taken to indicate economic performance six to nine months down the road.

The coincident index, which gauges the current state of the economy, was revised down to 30 percent from a preliminary 42.9 percent, confirming its slip below the line for the first time in 19 months.

The office cited negative data on raw material consumption, plant operation rate, and sales by small and midsize manufacturers as contributing to the downward revision. These data were not available in the preliminary report.

The lagging index, measuring economic activity in the recent past, was upgraded to 42.9 percent from a preliminary 33.3 percent, remaining below the line for the first time in four months.

Index readings above 50 percent are considered a sign of economic expansion, while readings below that level are taken as a sign of contraction.

The Cabinet Office cautioned that a judgment on Japan's overall economic state cannot be drawn from the November figures alone.

Tertiary activity rises

Economic activity in Japan's tertiary industries rose 0.6 percent in November from the previous month, marking the first upturn in three months, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said Monday.

The index designed to measure this activity stood at 106.7 against the 1995 base of 100, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

Based on this data, a ministry official said tertiary industry activity remains on a gradual upswing.

By industry, activity in the transportation and telecommunications sector grew 4.8 percent in November, a move partly attributable to the continued strong demand for mobile telephones, the ministry said.

This was followed by a 2.8 percent advance in the utilities sector, a 1 percent gain in the wholesale and retail sector and a 0.7 percent rise in the services sector, including travel and authorized gambling.

Conversely, the real estate index suffered a 5.7 percent setback as sales of ready-built houses contracted. The financial and insurance index also fell 1.5 percent due to dwindling securities transactions.

The ministry also unveiled data showing that the November index of overall industrial activity, which includes industrial production, rose 0.4 percent to 104.3, the first such growth in three months.