TOKYO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's key economic assessment was upgraded for the first time in three months by the government on Tuesday, owing to personal consumption and business activities rebounding from the downside affects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Japanese economy is picking up moderately," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly report for July, specifically referencing increases in private consumption, as well as imports and employment figures improving.
The latest view is in an upgrade from the government's previous assessment that the economy is "showing signs of picking up."
As for private consumption specifically, the government upwardly revised its assessment for the first time in three months, saying it is "picking up moderately" due to spending in the service sector bouncing back after COVID-19 restrictions.
In addition, unseasonably hot weather has seen consumers' purchases of summer clothes at department stores increase, the Cabinet Office's report also showed.
Employment, meanwhile, is "picking up," the government said, lifting its previous views that it was "showing signs of picking up," as employment figures have risen to pre-pandemic levels bolstered predominantly by an increase in employment among women.
As for imports, the government's assessment was upgraded for the second straight month, to "showing signs of picking up," as a result of robust imports from Asia.
As central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve have opted to tighten their monetary policy in a bid to tame inflation, which has led to volatility in currency and stock markets, the Cabinet Office here in its latest report warned of some short-term downside risks, however.
After data showed that Japan's core consumer prices, excluding prices for fresh food, jumped 2.2 percent in June, the fastest pace in over seven years and topping the Bank of Japan's long-held 2 percent inflation goal, the government maintained its view that consumer prices are "rising."
The government's global economic view was also retained in July as predominantly picking up, with its view on China upwardly revised for the first time in four months, but "pausing" in some areas globally. ■