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Japan economy watcher sentiment hits record low in April amid pandemic

May 14 (Japan Times) - Business sentiment among workers in Japan with jobs sensitive to economic trends logged a record low for the second consecutive month in April as the novel coronavirus pandemic stalled the nation's business activity, government data showed Wednesday.

The diffusion index of confidence among "economy watchers" such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff fell 6.3 points from the previous month to 7.9, the lowest level since comparable data became available in 2002.

The Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment for the third straight month, saying the economy, already in a quite severe situation following the coronavirus outbreak, is deteriorating further.

March's headline figure of 14.2 was already below levels marked in the wake of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and after the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan in 2011.

A reading below 50 indicates that more respondents reported worsening conditions than improving ones.

Japan's economy has been hit hard by requests for people to stay at home and for businesses to suspend operations under a state of emergency initially declared by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 7.

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