Japan consumer confidence rises

Consumers are becoming less pessimistic about Japan's economy

Japanese consumer confidence improved in June in a further sign that the world's second largest economy may be recovering from a deep recession.

The government index for household confidence rose to 37.6 last month, compared with 35.7 in May.

Revised figures also showed that Japan's industrial output rose by 5.7% in May compared with April, down from the initial estimate of 5.9% growth.

Despite the new figures, the outlook for Japan's economy remains uncertain.

Although industrial output was revised downward, the figure still represents the third straight monthly rise in output.

The increase was driven by a rise in car production, as well as mobile phones and electronic devices, as firms started to reverse earlier cuts in stock levels.

There are still fears, however, that output could slow again as the world downturn continues.

Japan, which is heavily dependent on exports, fell into recession in 2008 after two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Prime Minister Taro Aso is set to call a general election on 30 August, according to officials from his own party.