Business confidence among large companies in Japan improved for the first time in three quarters in the April-June period, spurred by a pickup in personal spending, the government said Thursday.
The index covering business conditions at companies capitalized at 1 billion yen or more stood at 0.9, up from 0.6 for the January-March quarter, the Cabinet Office and the Finance Ministry said in a joint quarterly survey.
The improvement was led by major companies in the entertainment industry -- such as operators of amusement parks, cinemas and pachinko parlors -- whose index jumped to 20.4 from minus 23.4, underscoring a recovery in personal consumption.
The index is compiled by subtracting the percentage of companies reporting deteriorating business conditions from the percentage of those reporting improvement.
The index for major firms running restaurants and hotels rose to 5.9 from minus 11.7, another indication of a pickup in personal consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.