The Bank of Japan's venerable "tankan" quarterly survey is one of the most closely watched ways of taking the temperature of the nation's companies.
It may not be as well-known, but the foreign business community has its own gauge to capture an accurate picture of the world's second-largest economy.
Twice a year, the Foreign Chambers in Japan carries out a business confidence survey, asking foreign firms operating here questions like how they regard the country's economic situation as well as their own performance over the next six months.