100 of 106 major firms in Japan expect economic growth at year-end

TOKYO. KAZINFORM A survey of 106 major companies in Japan has found 100 expect the country's economy to expand toward the year-end, while 76 do not oppose the government's plan to implement another sales tax hike in 2015, the Kyodo News poll showed Saturday.

Although Japan's economy plunged in the April-June quarter following a 3-percentage-point consumption tax hike to 8 percent on April 1, 92 of the companies polled said they believe the slump in consumer spending will dissipate by the end of 2014, Kyodo reports. The questionnaire survey conducted between mid-July and early August showed many major companies are upbeat about the economic outlook, but that they also expect the government to steadily carry out policies to put the economy back on a path of stable growth.