About 60 % of major Japanese companies surveyed expect the economy to grow in 2017 on recovering consumer spending and hopes that US president-elect Donald Trump's policies will boost the US economy, Japan's Kyodo News survey showed.

    But that percentage is down from 90% that forecast growth in a similar survey a year earlier, as many Japanese companies are concerned by Trump's unpredictability, political inexperience and oft-stated intention to radically overhaul US trade policy.

    Of the 108 companies surveyed between late November and early December, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp., 63 said they expect the economy will expand this year, of which 61 expect moderate growth.

    Forty-one said they expect no growth, while two projected a moderate contraction.