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Japan firms business mood slips as weak yen squeezes households

Business confidence at big Japanese manufacturers and services sector firms slid in April from the prior month, dragged down by cost-of-living pressures and shaky economic conditions in major market China, a Reuters monthly poll showed. The yen's weakening to levels unseen since 1990 during the heyday of the asset-inflated bubble is lifting the cost of imports in a blow to household consumption, according to the Reuters Tankan survey. The monthly Reuters Tankan, which closely tracks the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey, was conducted during the time the Japanese currency hit its 34-year lows to the dollar beyond 153 yen.