Industry ministry upgrades assessment of business conditions

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TOKYO, June 15 Kyodo -
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Monday upgraded its assessment
of Japan's business conditions for the first time in more than three years.
The ministry said the economy is ''flagging but showing some signs of recovery
in some parts'' in the latest report, compared with its previous assessment in
March that said the economy was ''receding.''
The June report upgraded assessments for nine of the nation's 10 regions,
excluding Okinawa.
METI upgraded its assessment for the first time since April 2006 at a meeting
of its regional bureau chiefs to discuss local economic conditions.
The report said bright signs have emerged in private sector production as
inventory adjustments have progressed in automobile and other manufacturing
sectors.
Recent signs of a pickup in the auto and electronics parts sectors after sharp
production cuts amid the global economic downturn were behind the ministry's
decision to upgrade the assessment, ministry officials said.
However, the employment situation has been deteriorating as new recruitment has
continued to fall and individual consumption has been sluggish, the report
said.
''We cannot say clearly that the economy has hit bottom,'' METI said. ''Future
prospects remain uncertain.''
The ministry revised downward its economic assessment of Okinawa to ''weak
movement'' from ''on a weak note'' in the previous poll, citing travel
cancellations to the region in the wake of the spread of a new influenza.
The ministry conducted the survey of around 5,700 companies across the country
in May.
==Kyodo