Japan’s Tankan Index for large manufacturers rose to -48 from -58 in the second quarter of 2009. The improvement comes after the first three months of the year saw the index reach the lowest point in the metric’s 35 year history as the the Japanese economy continued to slide deeper into recession. This may not be such positive news. When looking deeper into the data we see that the Bank of Japan’s Tankan Survey revealed that fixed investment plummeted in the period between April and June. Large manufacturers invested -24.3% less over the last 12 months, while medium manufacturers invested -31.7% less during the same period. Such news does not bode well for those betting on a smooth Japanese economic recovery. The start of Q2, April, saw Machine Orders decline 9 times more than that which was expected, -5.4% vs -0.6%.