Business confidence improving only among big firms

The latest business confidence index showed a widening gap between large corporations and small- and- medium-sized businesses.

On April 1st, the Bank of Japan published the result of a quarterly survey of about 10,500 firms. It showed that large manufacturers' business confidence is buoyant for the fourth consecutive quarter, but that the outlook for smaller companies continues to be bleak.

Behind the confidence among large corporations is ao-called the "corporate-restructuring effect". The large companies cut their workforce by 1.8 percent from the previous year. Smaller companies have increased jobs by 1.5 percent. Thus, the ones contributing to job creation are smaller companies, reported Akahata on April 2.

The Koizumi Cabinet maintains the policy of giving successful large corporations tax incentives but shows the cold shoulder to small business owners by keeping funding for smaller businesses low. (end)