Japan's Cabinet Office released its consumer confidence index on Tuesday. The consumer confidence index rose to 42.7 in December from 42.6 in November, beating expectations for a decline to 42.3.

The increase was driven by rises in 2 of 4 sub-indexes. The overall livelihood sub-index increased to 41.1 in December from 40.9 in November, the income growth sub-index was up to 41.8 from 41.1, the employment sub-index fell to 46.3 from 46.7, while the willingness to buy durable goods sub-index remained unchanged at 41.6.