Nearly three-quarters of companies expect the economy to keep expanding at least another year, extending an already strong run, although they were not as bullish as market estimates, according to a Reuters poll.
Japan has logged seven straight quarters of economic expansion through September, its longest uninterrupted stretch of growth since 1994. Tokyo stock prices are at their highest in 26 years while quarterly data shows corporate profits are near an all-time high.
But roughly half the surveyed firms expect the economy to stop expanding by the middle of next year, with that number rising to 71 percent for predictions through 2019. The planned consumption tax hike, the petering out of public works spending related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as well as the deepening labor shortage were cited as impediments to future growth.