Tokyoites appear more uncertain about economic outlook.

Sep. 27--TOKYO -- Bearish sentiment about the economy has somewhat increased among Tokyoites amid financial unrest in the wake of the U.S. subprime loan crisis, the research arm of advertising agency Dentsu Inc. said Thursday, citing the results of its bimonthly survey.

The survey in August found that 30.0 percent of 649 respondents, who are aged 18 to 69 years and reside in a 30-kilometer radius of central Tokyo, expect economic activity to become weaker, up 3.8 percentage points from the previous survey in June, the Dentsu Consumer Research Center said.

In contrast, 22.3 percent forecast the economy will improve, down 4.5 percentage points.

The percentage of people expecting a weakening of the economy topped that of people who forecast an improvement in activity for the first time since April 2005.

Analyzing the survey findings, a Dentsu Consumer official said urban ...