InsideJapan News Network

Machinery orders in Japan fell in February, the second month in a row that they have dropped. The fall was unexpected and could cause worry among the Japanese manufacturing industry, as core machinery orders are seen as a reliable indicator of the state of the business sector.

According to figures from the Japanese Cabinet Office, core machinery orders fell by 5.4 per cent to 684.6 billion yen (£4.8 billion) when compared with a year earlier.

However, other numbers from the office revealed that business sentiment in the services industry is at a three-year high and the number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan has fallen for the eighth month in a row.

"But recovery in overall orders is unlikely to pick up pace at least until later this year as non-manufacturers are hit hard by deflation and lagging behind manufacturers who can benefit more from exports," Yoshimasa Maruyama, economist at Itochu Corp, told Reuters.

Written by Kimberley Homer.