TOKYO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The diffusion index of confidence, a business sentiment indicator for the Japanese economy, logged the steepest plunge in over a decade in January amid concerns fueled by COVID-19 infection resurgence, Japanese government statistics showed Tuesday.
The figure, which measures the current business confidence compared to three months ago among "economy watchers," workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends like taxi drivers and restaurant staff, decreased 19.6 points from December to 37.9, according to the Cabinet Office.
It marked the sharpest fall since March 2011, when a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami disaster hit northeast Japan.
The office polled 2,050 workers on Jan. 25-31, and 1,839, or 89.7 percent of the poll, responded.
A reading above 50 of the figure indicated that business sentiment is inclined to feel that conditions are improving rather than worsening.
In January, the diffusion index fell in all of Japan's regions, as most of the country was placed under a quasi-state of emergency amid surging COVID-19 infections due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Under the emergency, restaurants and bars have been asked to shorten their business hours, while residents are requested to refrain from nonessential outings. ■