The Bank of Japan's latest quarterly "tankan" survey shows that confidence within the corporate sector is steadily improving. The survey calculates a business-sentiment index by subtracting the percentage of firms that are pessimistic about their business prospects from the percentage of firms that are optimistic.

Applied to big manufacturers, the index has improved for four consecutive quarters. For that group, the March index was minus 14, up 11 points from December. Brisk exports and the government's economic stimulus measures have contributed to the improvement. This shows that Japan's economy is steadily recovering. In contrast, the corresponding index in March 2009 was minus 58, a record low reached after plummeting 34 points from December 2008.

Preliminary exports statistics show that Japan's exports in February increased 45 percent from a year earlier, propelled by brisk exports of cars and electronic parts to China and the United States. This is a sign of the global economy recovering.