The Bank of Japan downgraded its assessments Thursday of all nine regional economies for the second straight quarter, as the novel coronavirus pandemic has continued to impact a wide range of business sectors.
In the central bank's quarterly Sakura Report, the BOJ said the regional economies had deteriorated or were in a more severe situation compared to April, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
In a teleconference with the central bank's regional branch managers, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the country's economy had been in “an extremely severe situation" due to the pandemic, reiterating his commitment to implement additional easing measures if necessary.