TOKYO -- Sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers plunged in January-March, marking the fifth straight quarter of declines and the longest downturn since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan survey showed on Wednesday.
The closely watched index of sentiment among large manufacturers fell to minus 8 from zero in the October-December period, the lowest reading since 2013. Economists had expected a reading of minus 10, according to a poll taken by Nikkei group company QUICK.
