Japan CEOs bullish on economy as consumer spending gears up

TOKYO -- More than 70% of top business leaders in Japan say the economy is expanding, a new Nikkei survey shows, with respondents citing signs of a recovery in consumer spending fueled by pay raises.

Asked their sentiments on the economy compared with three months earlier, 71.7% said the economy is "expanding slightly" -- roughly 20 percentage points more than in the previous poll.