The Bank of Japan has taken a more upbeat view of the economic recovery, forecasting a stronger upturn and dropping its use of the word 'gradually' to describe the current advance.
The central bank earlier in the day voted unanimously to leave its monetary policy unchanged amid concerns that rising long-term rates in Japan could hurt the recovery as they push up borrowing costs.
'Japan's economy continues to recover,' the bank said, dropping the word 'gradually' that it had used previously.
It said increases in production and corporate profits were having a positive effect on employment.
This followed news last week that Japan's economy, the world's second largest, grew at an annualised rate of 6.1% in the three months to March, higher than an initial estimate of 5.6% and the strongest among the Group of Seven industrial nations.
The bank upgraded its outlook by saying the domestic economy 'is expected to continue to recover, gathering stronger momentum'.
