Sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers was unchanged in September, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey.
The closely watched index was flat at plus six on Monday, which was slightly below the average estimate of plus seven, forecast by analysts surveyed by the Nikkei business daily.
Positive numbers indicate the extent to which optimists outnumber pessimists.
Large manufacturers expect the index to be unchanged in the next quarter, the survey showed.
The index for large non-manufacturers fell to plus 18 from plus 19 for the third consecutive quarter of fall, according to the survey.
Large companies in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors expected their investment to climb 6.3 per cent for the current financial year through March 2017 from the previous year, compared with a 6.2 per cent increase in the previous survey in July.
