Japanese business confidence improves

TOKYO — A key central bank report says business confidence at major Japanese manufacturers improved as they pushed to recover from disaster.

The Bank of Japan’s quarterly “tankan” survey of business sentiment shows that the main index for big manufacturers rose to 2 from minus 9 three months ago. The result was in line with market expectations.

The figure represents the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good minus those saying conditions are unfavorable, with 100 representing the best mood and minus 100 the worst.

The March earthquake and tsunami disrupted key manufacturing supply chains, leading to critical parts shortages. Industrial production data last week showed that output had almost nearly recovered to pre-quake levels.