Japanese companies pessimistic for 2023, worried about global recession: Survey
Many large Japanese companies are more pessimistic about the economy in 2023. Companies fear recession due to weak yen. Kyodo News has given this information after a survey of many companies.
Manika Raghuvanshi 
Major Japanese companies have become more pessimistic about the economy. This situation has been created due to high cost and weak yen. Kyodo News has given this information after a survey of 117 companies. The survey found that slightly more than half, or 56 percent, of companies expect the economy to grow this year.
The survey released on Monday said that it is much less than a year ago. Last year, about 84 percent of the companies expected the economy to grow. The percentage of firms forecasting growth for the annual survey was at its second lowest level in 10 years.
Worried about the recession of America and China
The companies also expressed concern about a recession in the US and China in 2023. The war in Ukraine has driven up the prices of oil and other raw materials. Also, the Japanese currency yen has weakened against the US dollar. This has increased the risk for the world's third largest economy.
This weak outlook of Japanese companies is also showing concern over a possible global recession. Indeed, central banks in the US and other major economies raise interest rates to combat inflation.
33 percent of the companies lost their profits due to weak yen
The dollar rose from 115 yen at its peak to around 150 yen at the beginning of last year. It was trading at around 130 yen on Tuesday. Only three percent of the companies surveyed said a weaker yen was positive for them. About a third of companies said that the weakening of the yen against the dollar was a problem because it raised manufacturing and energy costs, reducing their profits.
These companies including Toyota expect benefits
Toyota Motor Corp was one of the companies expected to have a relatively good year. Like other major exporting companies, it also benefits from the cheap yen. Energy, telecommunications and technology company SoftBank Group Corp. also saw improvements in the coming months, according to the survey conducted from late November to mid-December.
