Business sentiment rose in December among workers in Japan with jobs sensitive to economic trends, reaching their highest level in 16 years, as confidence among retailers grew toward the year-end holidays amid relatively subdued coronavirus case numbers, government data showed Wednesday.

The diffusion index of confidence in current conditions compared with three months earlier among "economy watchers," such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff, rose 0.1 point from November to 56.4, the highest reading since December 2005, according to the Cabinet Office.

The figure, further improving from the eight-year high in November, advanced for the fourth consecutive month. It was the second-highest level since comparable data became available in January 2002.