Five of the nine regions in Japan saw signs of economic recovery for the previous three months, according to the October Regional Economic Report released on Oct. 20 by the Bank of Japan.
Five of the nine regions in Japan saw signs of economic recovery for the previous three months, according to the October Regional Economic Report released on Oct. 20 by the Bank of Japan.The recovery, compared with July, marked significant progress made since the Great East Japan Earthquake, while at the same time indicating the impact of the stalling global economy fueled by the European crisis, which has started to be felt in some regions of the nation.The BOJ upgraded its economic assessment of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, Tokai and the Kyushu-Okinawa regions. Citing that "the underlying uptrend has not changed much," the central bank did not alter its ratings of the remaining four regions. The bank compiles the economic report every three months.In the October report, the assessment of the Tohoku region, where the March 11 earthquake killed more than 15,000 people, was raised for the second time in a row since the April report, which stated that the Great East Japan Earthquake inflicted a heavy blow on the region's economy.The report also noted that "the economy in the Tohoku region, except the hardest-hit areas, has even outstripped levels before the earthquake." The region saw an increased number of construction projects related to rebuilding efforts, as well as rising sales of retailers as people started rushing to buy home electronic devices and cars.In other regions, the trend of "bottoming-out" has also been seen in a number of economic indicators, including capital expenditure, housing investment, employment and income levels. BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa reiterated his views of the economy at an Oct. 20 meeting of the BOJ's branch presidents, saying, "the Japanese economy will be gradually back on a growth track."