Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Ministry of Finance upgraded its economic assessment of the Hokkaido northern and Shikoku western regions in a quarterly report released Thursday. The ministry kept its overall assessment of the nation’s economy unchanged, saying that it was “recovering moderately” while cautioning that developments in the Middle East required close monitoring. The ministry raised its economic assessment of Hokkaido to “recovering moderately” from “picking up,” and that of Shikoku to “picking up” from “picking up moderately.” For the Kyushu southwestern region, the ministry downgraded its assessment, saying that the pace of its economic recovery is slowing down because of the lingering impact of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the region’s Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28. In the previous report, the ministry withheld its assessment of the region due to the earthquake. By category, the ministry upgraded its assessment of production activities in six of the country’s 11 regions, reflecting robust demand related to artificial intelligence and data centers. Looking ahead, the ministry said the Japanese economy is expected to recover gradually, driven by improvements in employment and income as well as the effects of government measures. It also pointed out the need to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, as well as movements in financial and capital markets. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
