TOKYO, JAPAN - BIG Japanese manufacturers were less confident about business conditions in the three months to March compared with the previous quarter, a government survey showed on Monday.

The business survey index (BSI) of sentiment at large manufacturers in the January-March quarter was minus 12.9, compared with plus 5.2 in October-December, according to a joint survey by the Ministry of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute, an arm of the Cabinet Office.

The sentiment index at large non-manufacturers fell to minus 7.2 from minus 2.2 in the previous quarter, while that at big firms overall was down at minus 9.3 against plus 0.5 in October-December, the survey showed.