About 82 percent of major companies expect the Japanese economy to grow in 2018, citing a recovery in corporate capital investment and personal spending, but they are also cautious about hiking wages, according to a Kyodo News survey.
The percentage is up sharply from a similar survey a year earlier, where 58 percent of companies predicted growth, indicating businesses are increasingly optimistic about domestic economic prospects.
Of 109 companies surveyed between late November and early December, 89, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp., said they think the economy will expand this year, followed by 17 firms that said they expect growth to be flat. None projected a slowdown.