Japan's manufacturing activity ?expanded ?at its strongest pace ?in four years in April as firms boosted ?production over concerns about potential supply shortages due to rising tensions in ?the Middle East, a ?private-sector survey showed on Thursday. • The S&P Global flash Japan ?Manufacturing ?Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 54.9 in April, the highest ?since January 2022, from 51.6 in March. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction. • A key sub-index for factory output recorded the strongest increase ?since February 2014, driven by worries over future supply shortages linked ?to ?escalating tensions in the ?Middle ?East.