After two years of struggles, the Japanese economy seems to be back on its tracks as manufacturers are having positive sentiments about the weak yen and government policies of economic revival.

In the quarterly survey done by the Bank of Japan, the index for Japanese manufacturers improved from minus-8 to plus 4 in March 2013. It is the first time since September 2011 that the mood of Japanese businessmen is in the upswing. Meanwhile, the non-manufacturer's index increased from plus-6 to plus-12 in the same survey.

Capital spending of big manufacturers went up by close to seven percent while non-manufacturers followed suit with an increase of nearly five percent. Despite the weak Japanese yen, income for the key exporters in the country has increased. Likewise, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies on increased spending for public workers and more lenient monetary provisions have contributed to the positive outlook for the overall economy.

The prices of basic consumer good did not drop for the first time in seven months and industrial production increased by two percent. It is the fourth successive month that industrial production has improved. Overall, the Japanese economy registered a 4.1 percent growth in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to the same time last year.

Over the next two years, the Bank of Japan aims an inflation rate of two per cent as it continues to stem the effects of decreasing prices and slow economic growth. Stock prices also improved but the Japanese government is trying to regulate the increase to prevent the bubble from bursting too soon.

The Japanese economy and its population in general took a heavy blow when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake devastated the Fukushima prefecture, causing to wipe out several areas in major cities within the area. This earthquake triggered another earthquake in the Miyagi Prefecture that destroyed the city of Sendai. An estimated 19,000 people died out of these natural catastrophes.

The earthquake also triggered the malfunction of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and the release of radioactive materials from the Fukushima I plant. No deaths were reported out of this incident and potential cancer cases from the released radiation are minimal to none. However, the frightening occurrences caused an alarm to the global market that their confidence in Japan dwindled.

Shinzo Abe first served as Prime Minister in 2006, making him the youngest prime minister since World War II and the first to be born after the war. However, he resigned less than a year after but was re-elected in December 2012 to replace Naoto Kan. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is the country's central bank since 1882. To respond to Abe's aggressive economic policies, they have agreed in April 2013 to purchase securities and bonds worth at least 60 trillion yen to double Japan's fiscal supply.