Tankan Survey

Not unlike the sound of many delicious Japanese dishes, the Tankan survey is an economic survey by Japan and for Japan. It’s issued by the central Bank of Japan, and surveys the Japanese economy to make monetary policy.

What’s monetary policy again?, you say? It’s what the central bank does: tinkering with things like interest rates and the money supply to try to reach optimum unemployment, economic growth, and inflation.

If you ever see the Tankan survey in the international news, chances are it has to do with insights into Japan’s economy, speculating on how Japan’s central bank will act, and how that will affect the world economy.