TOKYO, April 4 (UPI) -- The Bank of Japan issued a breakdown Monday that gives some insight into how the quake-tsunami disaster may have impacted the nation's corporate psyche.
In an unusual move, the central bank provided data showing the difference between businesses reporting for the Tankan survey before and after the March 11 quake, Kyodo News reported.
The BOJ said the index for those large manufacturers that reported after the disaster came to a plus-6, compared with a plus-7 for those reporting ahead of the quake. The post-quake companies accounted for just 23.6 percent of the total.
The companies' outlook for the coming months swung from a plus-3 for 72 percent of the companies who responded before the quake to a minus-2 for the remainder that responded afterward, Kyodo said.
The overall results of the March Tankan released by the BOJ Friday had shown a rise to plus-6 from December's plus-5. But Kyodo said economists voiced concern that the data had little value since it mixed pre- and post-quake responses.
The breakdown shows there was a definite shift in sentiment among Japan's corporate leaders but the central bank noted there were fewer post-quake responses than earlier ones, Kyodo said.
