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Regional Economic Report (Summary) (July 2015)*

  • This report summarizes the reports from all regional research divisions, mainly at the Bank's branches in Japan, and is based on data and other information gathered for the meeting of general managers of the Bank's branches held today. The English translation is based on the Japanese original.

July 6, 2015
Bank of Japan

Compared with the last assessment in April 2015, eight regions (Tohoku, Hokuriku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) reported that their assessments regarding the pace of economic improvement had remained unchanged, and the Hokkaido region revised its assessment upward mainly in view of an increase in production.

All regions reported that the economy had been recovering moderately or recovering, mainly against the background of a pick-up in production, reflecting a moderate increase in demand both at home and abroad, and of the ongoing steady improvement in the employment and income situation.

Table : Regional Economic Report
Region Assessment in April 2015 Changes
from the
previous
assessment1
Assessment in July 2015
Hokkaido The economy has been recovering moderately, although some weakness has been observed in some aspects. upper right The economy has been recovering moderately.
Tohoku The economy has been recovering moderately. unchanged The economy has been recovering moderately.
Hokuriku The economy has been recovering. unchanged The economy has been recovering.
Kanto-Koshinetsu The economy has continued to recover moderately. unchanged The economy has continued to recover moderately.
Tokai The economy has continued to recover steadily. unchanged The economy has continued to recover steadily.
Kinki The economy has been recovering. unchanged The economy has been recovering.
Chugoku The economy has been recovering moderately. unchanged The economy has been recovering moderately.
Shikoku The economy has continued to recover moderately. unchanged The economy has continued to recover moderately.
Kyushu-Okinawa The economy has been recovering moderately. unchanged The economy has been recovering moderately.
  1. With regard to the changes from the previous assessment, arrows pointing to the upper right or lower right indicate changes in the pace of improvement or deterioration compared with the previous assessments, respectively. For example, an acceleration in the pace of improvement or deceleration in the pace of deterioration is indicated with an arrow pointing to the upper right. A horizontal arrow pointing to the right indicates that the pace of improvement or deterioration in economic conditions has remained unchanged compared with the previous assessments.

As for public investment, the Tohoku and Kanto-Koshinetsu regions reported that it was increasing moderately, or increasing recently, and the Kinki and Shikoku regions noted that it had more or less leveled off at a high level.  On the other hand, five regions (Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Tokai, Chugoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) reported that it was declining, although it remained at a high level.

As for business fixed investment, three regions (Hokkaido, Hokuriku, and Tokai) reported that it was increasing further, or increasing significantly, three other regions (Tohoku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, and Kinki) noted that it was increasing moderately, or increasing, and the other three regions (Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) reported that it had been resilient, or was picking up.  Meanwhile, it was reported that business sentiment was improving, or had generally stayed at a favorable level.

As for private consumption, with the employment and income situation continuing to improve steadily, the Hokkaido region noted that it was recovering, four regions (Hokuriku, Tokai, Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) reported that it was picking up moderately, or picking up, and four other regions (Tohoku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, Kinki, and Chugoku) noted that it had been resilient, or had been firm as a whole.

As for sales at large retail stores, many regions reported that they had been firm, or were picking up moderately, or picking up.

As for automobile sales, it was noted that they had been relatively weak, mainly for small cars with engine sizes of 660cc or less, or that recovery had been sluggish, while there were reports that sales had been solid.

As for sales of household electrical appliances, it was noted that recovery had been sluggish, while there were reports that sales had been solid, or had begun to pick up moderately, or that they were recovering moderately.

As for travel-related demand, it was reported that demand had been solid, primarily in domestic travel, or had been firm.  Meanwhile, several regions noted that the number of foreign visitors to Japan had continued to increase.

As for housing investment, the Kinki region reported that it had been relatively weak as a whole, while three regions (Hokkaido, Chugoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) noted that it had bottomed out, and three other regions (Hokuriku, Kanto-Koshinetsu, and Tokai) reported that it had begun to pick up.  Meanwhile, the Tohoku and Shikoku regions noted that it had been at a high level, or had been resilient.

As for production (industrial production), on the back of the moderate increase in demand both at home and abroad, four regions (Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Tokai, and Kinki) reported that it had been at a high level, or was increasing, and three regions (Kanto-Koshinetsu, Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) noted that it was picking up moderately, or picking up.  Meanwhile, the Tohoku and Chugoku regions reported that it had been more or less flat.

With regard to production by industry, the following developments were reported.  Electronic parts and devices and electrical machinery had continued to be at relatively high levels, or were increasing moderately, and chemicals was increasing.  On the other hand, iron and steel had reduced its capacity utilization.  Meanwhile, general-purpose, production and business oriented machinery and transportation equipment had shown mixed developments: depending on the report, the former was decreasing, or increasing, and the latter had continued production cutbacks, or had been at a high level as a whole.

Many regions reported that the employment and income situation was improving.

Many regions reported that supply and demand conditions in the labor market had continued to improve steadily.  As for household income, many regions noted that it was picking up steadily, or increasing moderately.

table :
Region Public investment Business fixed
investment
Private
consumption
Housing
investment
Production Employment and income
Hokkaido Declining, although it remains at a high level Increasing further, reflecting the improvements in sales and profits amid the moderate economic recovery Recovering since consumer sentiment has brightened gradually, amid steady improvement in the employment and income situation Has bottomed out Increasing, against the background of firm overseas demand Supply and demand conditions in the labor market are improving steadily. Household income is recovering.
Tohoku Increasing moderately, primarily in construction orders related to the restoration following the earthquake disaster Increasing moderately Has been resilient Has been at a high level, mainly due to construction of public housing for disaster-stricken households Has been more or less flat The employment and household income situation is improving
Hokuriku On a declining trend Increasing further, particularly in manufacturing Picking up Has begun to pick up Has been at a high level The employment and household income situation is improving steadily
Kanto-Koshinetsu Increasing recently Increasing Has been resilient Has begun to pick up Picking up Household income is increasing moderately, as supply and demand conditions in the labor market continue to improve steadily
Tokai On a declining trend, although it remains at a high level Increasing significantly Picking up amid steady improvement in the employment and income situation Has begun to pick up Increasing moderately The employment and household income situation is improving steadily
Kinki Has more or less leveled off at a high level Increasing Has been firm as a whole, amid improvement mainly in the employment and income situation, although recovery has been sluggish in some aspects Has been relatively weak as a whole Has continued to trend upward, although it has fallen back from the upsurge in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, inventories are on a declining trend. With supply and demand conditions in the labor market continuing to improve, household income is improving further, since wages have exceeded the previous year's level
Chugoku Has begun to decline Picking up Has been resilient Has bottomed out Has been more or less flat as a whole The employment situation is improving steadily. Household income is picking up steadily.
Shikoku Has been at a high level Has been resilient Picking up moderately Has been resilient Picking up moderately Supply and demand conditions in the labor market are improving and household income is picking up moderately
Kyushu-Okinawa Declining moderately, although it remains at a high level Picking up steadily Has begun to pick up as a whole, with consumer sentiment recently showing signs of improvement amid steady improvement in the employment and income situation, although some weakness has been observed in some aspects Has bottomed out and shown some signs of picking up Picking up as a whole, despite ongoing production cutbacks in automobiles as well as in iron and steel Supply and demand conditions in the labor market are improving steadily and household income is picking up moderately

Appendix: Prefectures Included in Each Region

table : Appendix: Prefectures Included in Each Region
Region Prefectures
Hokkaido Hokkaido
Tohoku Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima
Hokuriku Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui
Kanto-Koshinetsu Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, and Nagano
Tokai Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Mie
Kinki Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama
Chugoku Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi
Shikoku Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi
Kyushu-Okinawa Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa

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