The Bank of Japan said on Thursday that five out of the nine regions in Japan upgraded their economic views from three months ago as domestic demand continues to be backed by better prospects for jobs, wages and factory production.
"All regions said that the economy had been recovering or recovering moderately, reflecting firm domestic demand, a moderate increase in production and improvement in the employment and income conditions," the BOJ said in its quarterly regional economic report.
It is the first time since April 2005 - when the BOJ started the report - that all the nine regions have described their economic conditions as "recovering."
A BOJ official told reporters that the virtuous cycle among production, income and spending is spreading to many regions. The economy is supported by high demand for durable goods before the April sales tax hike, he said.
"Compared with the last assessment in October 2013, four regions noted that their economic assessments regarding the pace of economic improvement had remained unchanged; five regions reported upward revisions to their economic assessments, mainly reflecting improvement in private consumption supported by the employment and income situation," the report said.
Many regions also reported bright assessments of key components, such as industrial production, private consumption and capital investment.
Source: NewsOnJapan
