The Bank of Japan maintained its assessment Monday on seven of nine regional economies from October, while upgrading the view on the Tokai area in central Japan on the back of an increase in automobile production and solid employment conditions.
The central bank said the economy of the Tokai region — home to Toyota Motor Corp. — has been "expanding at a moderate pace." It is the first time since April 2008 that the wording "expansion" was used to describe the state of a regional economy, according to a BOJ official.
By contrast, the BOJ cut the view on the economy of the Kinki region centering on Osaka because of flattening production activity amid a slowdown in the Chinese economy.