Japan sees easing economic damage, raises outlook

Japan raised its economic outlook in June for the first time in two years. This followed after the government monitored that the economic drag brought by the novel coronavirus pandemic had nearly come to an end.

The country’s report for June indicated that the economy is still under an extremely severe situation as the pandemic presses further. However, it halted from declining.  Though the economy is likely to slide into its sharpest postwar slump, the government’s positive outlook was drawn from upbeat consumer spending and business sentiment.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared the emergency in April, mandating people to stay home and businesses to close to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“The economy is still on a slightly downward trend but the sharp deterioration has ended,” said an official at the Cabinet Office, suggesting that any economic pick-up heavily depends on employment and salary rates.