A key gauge of the current state of Japan's economy stood at 100 percent for October, way above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent, the government said Friday.
This is viewed as another sign that the world's second-largest economy is on a recovery trend.
The index of coincident economic indicators was up from a revised 90.9 percent in September, staying above 50 percent for the sixth consecutive month, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report.
A reading above 50 percent is considered a sign of economic expansion. A figure below this line is seen as a sign of contraction.
Among 11 individual indexes in the coincident economic indicators, the nine available thus far, including industrial output and commercial sales, showed growth compared with the previous month.
This appears to be a positive sign of recovery in the economy, though a senior official of the Cabinet Office told reporters that the figure must be evaluated with caution.
"Since the indexes for July, which were used as a comparison for the reporting month, were at a low level due to the unseasonably cool summer weather, there was a condition in which the indexes would have tended to rise high in October," the official said.
The government left unchanged its view that "the economy is recovering" from September.
Looking ahead, the government expects the coincident economic indicator index to stay above the 50 percent line in November, partly due to expectations of 3.1 percent growth in industrial production for November, the official said.
The index of leading indicators, which predicts economic movements about six months down the road, stood at 88.9 percent, up from a revised 66.7 percent in September.
The index was above the 50 percent line for the second month in a row.