Consumer sentiment in Japan improved in March from December for the fourth consecutive quarter, the Cabinet Office said in a survey released Tuesday.
It said the seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index stood at 42.5, up 1.9 points from December and the highest since December 2000, when it was 43.2. The government has revised upward its assessment on consumer sentiment.
"Consumer sentiment is improving," an official at the Cabinet Office said during a briefing for the March survey. In the previous assessment, the government said, "There is a sign of recovery in consumer sentiment."
The index, considered an assessment of national spending trends in the coming three months, gauges consumer expectations for the next six months in five categories: employment, prices, attitudes toward overall livelihood, income growth and inclination to purchase durable goods.
The index is calculated by assigning points on the basis of whether consumers believe conditions in the coming six months will "improve," "improve somewhat," "remain unchanged," "deteriorate somewhat" or "deteriorate."