Japanese Manufacturers Gain Some Ground

Japan's manufacturers gained in confidence for a second straight quarter, adding to signs that they may sustain investment and fuel economic expansion in the world's second-largest economy.

Confidence among manufacturers with at least 1 billion yen ($8.6 million) in capital was 10.5 points in the three months ending December, up from 6.4 points in the previous quarter, according to a survey jointly released by the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Finance in Tokyo today. A positive number means more companies indicated conditions have improved compared with the previous three months.

Expansion by companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Fuji Photo Film Co. is creating jobs and raising wages, fueling demand by consumers at home and helping to extend the country's longest economic expansion in eight years.

"Japanese companies have increased investment at a pace exceeding expectations, and this is a clear sign that they are confident about the sustainability of high economic growth,'' said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo.

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