Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends in Japan jumped in October to its highest level since January 2014 as the government lifted the state of emergency over the coronavirus, and eateries and retailers began recovering from the pandemic fallout, official data showed Tuesday.
The diffusion index of confidence measuring the current mood compared with three months earlier among "economy watchers," such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff, climbed 13.4 points from September to 55.5, up for the second straight month, according to the Cabinet Office.
The monthly improvement was the largest since June last year, a month after the country's first state of emergency was fully lifted, it said.