Bank of Japan’s September report of recent economic and financial developments1  Bank of Japan, Communication, 13 September 1999. *  *  *  The Bank’s View2 Japan’s economy has stopped deteriorating, and there are some activities improving such as exports and production. However, clear signs of a self-sustained recovery in private demand have not yet been observed.
With regard to final demand, business fixed investment has been on a downward trend. Recovery in private consumption continues to be weak on the whole. Housing investment, which had been recovering, has recently peaked out. Meanwhile, public works have been rising, and net exports (exports minus imports) have started growing due to an increase in exports.