Eighty percent of top Japanese companies surveyed say they are confident the Japanese economy will recover in the six months through next March, according to a Kyodo News poll released Saturday.

In the survey of 100 top companies about their business sentiment for the second half of the current business year, 80

companies said the economy in the six months from October this year to March next year will either "expand" or "slowly recover".

Asked about the current situation of the Japanese economy, 50 companies said the economy is "making a mild recovery" while the other half saw it as "stagnant".

The survey was conducted last month on 100 companies from the iron and steel, electric, auto, distribution, financial and other industries.

In the survey, 60 companies said they will expand their capital spending in the current business year ending next March, with more than 25 planning to hire more employees.

Sixty-two firms forecast a rise in their profits for the current business year from the previous year.

To a question on sources of concern in which respondents were allowed multiple answers, 83 companies cited high crude oil and raw materials prices, while 60 expressed fear of a possible slowdown in the US and Chinese economies.

Source: Xinhua