Household sentiment rose for the sixth straight month in June, a sign that the economy is sustaining its expansion.
The confidence index climbed to 43.5 last month from 42.8 in May, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday. A number below 50 means pessimists outnumber optimists.
Tuesday's report suggests households haven't been deterred by a decline in stocks and a stronger yen spurred by investor concerns that the global recovery is moderating. Confidence among large manufacturers climbed to a two-year high in June, the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey showed this month.
"The benefits of the economic recovery have already started to spread to jobs and incomes, albeit at a very slow pace," Azusa Kato, an economist at BNP Paribas, said before the report was released. "But obviously, we're still far from a self-sustaining recovery in domestic demand."