The government on Thursday upgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months, owing to rising exports and production spurred by a robust recovery in the U.S. economy.
"The economy is showing an incipient recovery," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for November. In its October report, the office said, "The economy is showing movement toward an incipient recovery."
However, the November report urges financial authorities to keep a close eye on stock and foreign-exchange markets, particularly when recent weakness in Tokyo share prices pulled the benchmark Nikkei average below the psychological threshold of 10,000 this week for the first time in three months.