The Bank of Japan on Thursday downgraded its assessments on two of the country's nine regional economies, reflecting the negative impact of a recent string of natural disasters.
In its quarterly report, the central bank downgraded its views on the Chugoku region after taking into account the damage wrought by torrential rain in July, which caused flash floods in the area, as well as on Hokkaido, which was hit by a strong earthquake in September.
A firm there operating in the automobile industry was quoted as saying that while its production facilities escaped unscathed from the magnitude 6.7 quake, the ensuing island-wide blackout caused a dip in output that has left it rushing to catch up.