Pandemic sinks Japan business mood to decade low, outlook even bleaker

The slump in Japanese business confidence deepened in May, hitting decade lows as firms braced for a protracted period of coronavirus-driven economic weakness, the Reuters Tankan survey showed on Wednesday.

The downbeat findings came after data this week showed the world’s third-largest economy slipped into its first recession in four and a half years last quarter, as the broadening impact of the highly contagious virus depressed business and consumer activity at home and abroad.