The government left unchanged its assessment of exports and industrial production, but there are signs that corporate activity is losing momentum as exports decline.
Overall, the report is unlikely to reduce uncertainty about the economy as the government drafts fiscal stimulus spending to boost growth and as expectations mount for more monetary easing to get the inflation rate up."The economy remains in moderate recovery, but weakness in some areas can be seen," the Cabinet Office said on Monday in its monthly economic assessment, which was unchanged from last month.Japanese companies are becoming more cautious about the outlook, the Cabinet Office said, which marked a downgrade from last month's assessment that there were some signs of caution.Confidence at big Japanese manufacturers was unchanged in June from three months earlier, the BOJ's tankan survey showed earlier this month, but confidence at large automakers slipped in a warning that overseas demand could be weak.The vast majority of the companies the BOJ surveyed replied before Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union. Some economists worry that when Brexit is fully factored in, sentiment in Japan could weaken further.The yen