Information Releases

May. 2023

Economic Trends Research, May 2023

Economy improves for third straight month, supported by strong tourism
— The consecutive national holidays without pandemic restrictions and inbound consumption were positive factors —

Trend in May 2023: Continued improvement

The economic diffusion index (DI) in May 2023 was 45.4, up 0.8 point from the previous month, for a third straight month of improvement. The domestic economy showed a strong pick-up movement broadly amid further acceleration of a move toward normalization of economic activities and social life.

Future outlook: Continued trend toward gradual recovery

Although there are concerns about downside factors including rising costs, Japan’s economy is expected to show a trend toward a gradual recovery.

Primary points of survey results(summary)

1. 1 By industry: Improved in 9 out of 10 industries, with continued strong demand mainly related to tourism and food and beverage.
2. 2 By size: Companies of all sizes showed an improvement for the third straight month as the movement toward leaving COVID behind gained momentum.
3. 3 By region: All 10 regions reported a third straight month of improvement, driven by travel and tourism in each region.

Economic Trends Research, May 2023