The Japanese economy continues to show steady improvement. Of course, many problems remain. Moreover, the prognosis for the economy over the medium term is a good deal less upbeat than the outlook for the next few months.
Industrial production is one reason for optimism.
May. As a result, production in June was 7 percent higher than the year before. That helped to lift the index 1.6 percent in the second quarter from its January-March level. May. Consequently, inventories, which had expanded for four straight months, contracted in both May and June. Services also showed signs of life in the spring. May. Although June statistics are not available, data on some of the index's components suggest another increase.