Economic policymakers on Tuesday showed their strongest confidence yet that the nation has emerged from the lull that started in autumn and upgraded their economic assessments accordingly.
During an evening news conference, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka attributed his belief in an economic upswing to pickups in exports, major progress in adjustments in the information technology sector and rising personal spending.
His remarks were in line with the latest and the most upbeat assessment yet by Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui, who said earlier in the day that the economy "has almost moved out of a pause."