In the January edition of its monthly economic report, the Cabinet Office kept its headline assessment that the economy is "recovering at a moderate pace."

Toshimitsu Motegi, minister for economic and fiscal policy, explained at a Cabinet meeting this means the economy is thought to have counted its 74th consecutive month of improvement since December 2012, surpassing the previous longest stretch between 2002 and 2008.

In roughly a year from now after conducting a comprehensive review of more data, a government panel will formally decide whether the boom has indeed extended the record.

But the report also said exports are "in a weak tone" as demand from the rest of Asia for technology products waned, and warned of risks abroad including heightened trade tensions between the United States and China and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

The Cabinet Office maintained its assessments of other key elements of the economy, saying private consumption is "picking up" and business investment is "increasing."

But it also said that inflation is "flat," a more dovish reading than in December when it said it had been "rising at a slower tempo."

Year-on-year gains in core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food items, have slowed to 0.7 percent despite the Bank of Japan's efforts to hit 2 percent inflation.

Growth in gross domestic product during the current expansionary phase is a real 1.2 percent, lower than 1.6 percent during the previous stretch in the 2000s, the office said.

But it noted that the number of employed workers had nearly quadrupled to 3.75 million from 970,000, approaching close to the highs of the 1980s asset bubble economy.

Private consumption is gradually picking up as fewer households rely on a single breadwinner, boosting household income, the office said.

Source : https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190129/p2g/00m/0bu/035000c