Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday there was no change to the view that the economy remains in moderate recovery, despite rising pressure from a global slowdown.

"It's true that manufacturers are mainly being affected by global slowdown," Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "But fundamentals that support domestic demand remains solid."

Aso also said he did not expect a repeat of deep declines in demand as happened during the previous sales tax hike in 2014.