Japan Business Sentiment Improves In Q4

(RTTNews) - Confidence among Japanese manufacturing companies improved in the fourth quarter, survey results from the Ministry of Finance showed on Wednesday.

The business survey index for manufacturers rose to 4.7 in the fourth quarter from 3.8 in the third quarter. However, the index is forecast to fall to 1.1 in the first quarter of 2026.

At the same time, the BSI for non-manufacturing companies dropped marginally to 5.1 in the December quarter from 5.2 in the preceding quarter. For the first quarter, the index is seen falling to 5.0.

Consequently, the overall BSI for large companies climbed to 4.9 from 4.7 in the third quarter, survey data showed. But confidence is expected to drop in the first quarter, with the reading falling to 3.7.