The Bank of Japan's tankan economic survey for June, released in early July, shows that the economy was in bad shape that month but expects that it will rebound in September.

But attention should be paid to factors that may hamper economic recovery, including power shortages.

Reflecting the effect of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the diffusion index (DI) — the percentage of companies expecting a good prospect minus the percentage of companies expecting a bad prospect — for major manufacturers was minus 9 for June, or 15 points down from March, the first dip in 15 months.