The government said Monday it has revised its economic assessment upward for four of the nation's 10 regions for March based on a steady recovery trend.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said its evaluation of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto and Hokuriku was revised upward with conditions for their weaker sectors improving.
The ministry said this led it to upgrade its overall view of the regional economies to the best position ever. It began its assessments in 2001.
Overall, METI said, the regional economies are "improving, although disparities are seen."
The ministry has surveyed regional economies three times a year since March 2001. For this poll, regional METI bureaus interviewed 1,357 companies from late February to early March.
In the previous survey, for October, METI said in its general assessment that the regional economies were "on the path of gradual improvement."
Heads of the regional bureaus reported the survey results at a meeting in Tokyo attended by METI chief Toshihiro Nikai. The ratio of job offers to job seekers exceeded 1 in five areas this time, compared with four in the previous survey.
The five are Kanto, Tokai, Hokuriku, Kinki and Chugoku.