Japan’s Business Mood Worsens as Costs Cloud Outlook

Japan’s Business Mood Worsens as Costs Cloud Outlook
A factory area in front of Mount Fuji in Yokohama, Japan, on Jan. 16, 2017. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
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TOKYO—Japanese manufacturers’ business mood worsened in the three months to September and corporate inflation expectations hit a record high, a central bank survey showed, as stubbornly high material costs clouded the outlook for the fragile economy.

Corporate capital expenditure plans for the current fiscal year stayed strong, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey showed, thanks in part to the boost to exporters from the weak yen.