The Bank of Japan said Thursday that a moderate recovery remains underway in all regional economies, upholding previous upbeat assessments because of the expectation that cheaper oil will spur consumption.
In its quarterly report, the central bank kept steady its evaluations of eight of nine regional economies, citing the fading impact of the consumption tax hike last April, a pickup in demand both at home and overseas, and a continued improvement in employment and salaries.
Hokkaido was the only region which got a downward revision, because of a decline in public investment there. Still, even that economy is showing moderate recovery, the report said.