• 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.

January 15, 2020
Bank of Japan

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I. Regional Economic Assessments (Overview)

According to assessments from regions across Japan, all nine regions reported that their economy had been either expanding or recovering. The background to this was that domestic demand, in terms of such items as business fixed investment and private consumption, had continued on an uptrend, with a virtuous cycle from income to spending operating in both the corporate and household sectors, although exports, production, and business sentiment had shown some weakness, mainly affected by the slowdown in overseas economies and natural disasters.

Compared with the previous assessment in October 2019, three regions (Hokuriku, Tokai, and Chugoku) revised down their assessments, whereas the other six regions reported that their assessments were unchanged.

Comparison of Previous and Current Assessments by Region

Region	Assessment in October 2019	Changes from the previous assessment1	Assessment in January 2020
Hokkaido	The economy has been expanding moderately.		The economy has been expanding moderately.
Tohoku	The economy has continued to recover moderately, although some weakness has been observed in part.		The economy has continued to recover moderately, although some weakness is becoming widespread.
Hokuriku	The economy has been expanding moderately.		The economy has continued on an expanding trend, although the pace has moderated further.
Kanto- Koshinetsu	The economy has been expanding moderately, although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in overseas economies.		The economy has been on a moderate expanding trend, although it has been mainly affected by the slowdown in overseas economies and natural disasters.
Tokai	The economy has been expanding.		The economy has been expanding moderately.
Kinki	The economy has continued to expand moderately, although some weakness has been observed in part.		The economy has continued to expand moderately, although some weakness has been observed in part.
Chugoku	The economy has been expanding moderately, although some weakness has been observed in part.		The economy has been on a moderate expanding trend, albeit at a somewhat slower pace.
Shikoku	The economy has been recovering.		The economy has been recovering, although some weakness has been observed in part.
Kyushu- Okinawa	The economy has been expanding moderately.		The economy has been expanding 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 is unchanged compared with the previous assessment.

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Inquiries

Regional Research Division, Research and Statistics Department

Tel : +81-3-3277-1357