Business leaders voiced concern Tuesday about the deflationary state of the economy, despite the government's announcement earlier in the day that it grew for the eighth straight quarter in the January-March period.
"The state of the economy is far from being able to get out of deflation," said Nobuo Yamaguchi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"One needs to pay attention to the fact that the effects of the gross domestic product growth have not yet benefited the regional economies and small and midsize companies in general."