Due to concerns about U.S. tariffs, factory activity in Japan has declined.

A civil survey released on Thursday showed that Japan's manufacturing activity in April shrank for the 10th consecutive month, due to weak overseas demand and increased concerns about US tariffs. The final value of the manufacturing purchasing managers' index for April, released by Jibun Bank, rose slightly from 48.4 in March to 48.7, indicating a mild contraction in the business environment. The index was slightly higher than the preliminary value of 48.5, but has been below the boom-bust threshold of 50.0 for the 10th consecutive month.