TOKYO : Japan kept the overall view on its economy unchanged in May, saying it showed signs of improvement and removing a reference to the coronavirus in its headline assessment for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“The economy is showing signs of picking up,” the government said in its May economic report.
Looking ahead, it was necessary to pay attention to downside risks amid worries about the pandemic’s impact in China and a prolonged Ukraine crisis, the government said.
The government cut its assessment of imports after a sharp drop in shipments from China, while raising its views on the employment situation and housing investment.
On imports, the government said they were showing weakness, against describing them previously as being mostly flat.
Japan’s imports from China declined 20.8 per cent in April from the month before as heavy COVID-19 curbs in major mainland cities such as Shanghai disrupted supply-chains…
