Japan's fragile economic recovery won upbeat appraisals Tuesday in separate reports from the nation's central bank, the government's Cabinet office and Standard & Poor's, despite mounting political uncertainty about next month's nationwide elections, AP reported. The Bank of Japan upgraded its outlook of the economy, saying exports and wages were picking up, while the U.S.-based credit rating agency said economic reforms started by the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are likely to continue no matter which party wins September's ballot. The Cabinet office chimed in to say Japan is «recovering at a moderate pace.» The assessments spelled good news for the world's second largest economy, which is recovering from its fourth recession since 1991. Japan's economy expanded at an annualized 4.9 percent in the January-March quarter, getting a boost from robust consumption as rising wages encouraged people to spend more. «If we take a snapshot of the economy now, things may appear a bit fuzzy, but I think we can say that for the most part the economy is out of its lull,» Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui told reporters at a news conference after the central bank released its monthly economic report for August. «In Japan, the markets as well as the economy are going in a good direction,» he said. Koizumi plunged the country into political turmoil on Monday by disbanding Parliament and scheduling elections for Sept. 11. The move was in response to the upper chamber's rejection of his cherished plan to privatize the nation's sprawling postal savings and insurance system. --mor 1212 Local Time 0912 GMT
