The Bank of Japan said in a quarterly report Monday that the nation's nine regional economies are still robust despite downward pressure from the April 1 consumption tax hike.
The tax hike to 8 percent from 5 percent was expected to dent household and business spending, but the central bank did not change its evaluations of the regional economies, signaling they are holding their own.
The report may reinforce the market's view that the BOJ will leave monetary policy unchanged when the Policy Board meets from July 14 to 15. The members will review the regional assessments as well as the recently released "tankan" business sentiment survey, which indicated the slowdown from the tax hike was relatively limited.