P509 509 TELEINF 03:42:17 JAPAN RECOVERY LACKS STRONG MOMENTUM TOKYO - Japan's economic recovery is being constrained by a lack of strong momentum in the growth of private sector capital spending and consumer spending. Slow recovery was blamed in production for a temporary slackening in the improvement of corporate sentiment, as indicated by the Bank of Japan's "Tankan" survey, along with weakness in the microchip market and worsening export conditions. But the economy nonetheless retained its trend of modest recovery on the back of a steady increase in private sector capital spending and high growth in housing and public sector investment. Consumer spending, while showing weakness in the 3 months to June due to extraordinary factors, retained its trend of moderate improvement. GDP data showed a contraction of 0.7 % in see next page >>>