The pessimism reigning among large manufacturers remained firmly entrenched in the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey Monday, underscoring persistent concerns about the yen's appreciation and Europe's sovereign credit risk.
The business index for major manufacturers — companies capitalized at ¥1 billion or more — remained at minus 4 from the previous tankan in December. A negative number means there is more pessimism than optimism among those surveyed about the state of their business.
The tankan survey was "weaker than anticipated," said Takashi Shiono, an economist at Credit Suisse.