Economy shows more improvements

Although there are still concerns about deflation and nominal growth remains flat, the Japanese economy has been showing signs of improvement. Companies have been cutting costs and profits have been recovering, the export industry has been picking up and household spending has been positive. Denis Clough, head of Pan-Asian equities and manager of the Tokyo fund at Schroders, says: "Success in cost-cutting, efficiency improvements and profit growth was evident in the raft of Japanese year-end company reports released in the second quarter - despite the weak economic outlook." According...