According to the Cabinet Office's Economy Watchers Survey, which asks workers how the economy is feeling, the index showing the current state of the economy last month fell below the previous month, marking the second consecutive month of deterioration.
Against the backdrop of rising raw material prices, the Cabinet Office has stated that there are concerns about rising costs, including the impact of the situation in Ukraine.
The Cabinet Office's Economy Watchers Survey asks more than 2,000 working people how they feel about the economy compared to three months ago.
In this survey conducted from February 25 to 28, the index showing the current state of the economy was 37.7, 0.2 points from the previous month due to the extension of the deadline for priority measures such as spread prevention and the rise in raw material prices. It has fallen below that for the second consecutive month.
The index, which asked about the future of the economy two to three months later, was 44.4, which was 1.9 points higher than the previous month, due to the expectation that the behavioral restrictions on the new corona measures would be relaxed.
However, over Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, there were concerns at supermarkets that "food prices will continue to rise and customers' wallets will continue to be tight," and in the transportation industry, "involved in transportation." There was also a voice of anxiety such as "everything is rising in price."
The Cabinet Office maintained the keynote judgment that "there is a weakness in the recovery" regarding the current state of the economy, but "there are concerns about rising costs, including the impact of the situation in Ukraine," regarding the outlook.