TOKYO: Japan’s Finance Ministry lowered its economic assessments for three of the country’s 11 regions Monday, reflecting a weaker rebound in production due to record inflation, the slowdown of the Chinese economy and the effects of a recent major earthquake in the country.

In the latest quarterly report, the ministry downgraded the views for the Kanto eastern region and the Hokuriku and Tokai central regions. Assessments for the remaining eight regions were left intact.

The ministry released the quarterly assessments after a meeting of its local finance bureau chiefs.

On the overall Japanese economy, the ministry said it was gradually recovering, keeping its view unchanged, while noting that weakness can be seen in some parts. It listed weaker foreign economies, inflation, the Middle East situation, fluctuations in financial and capital markets and the effects of the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in the Hokuriku region as future risks.

“While the impact of the earthquake remains, (the Hokuriku economy) is gradually picking up thanks to reconstruction and revitalization demand as well as the effect of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line extension,” the Hokuriku finance bureau said. The bureau had kept the region’s assessment unchanged in the previous January report, pointing out the “need to sufficiently grasp the earthquake’s entire impact on the region.”

The views on production activity, a key component of the overall assessment, were revised down for Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Kanto, Hokuriku, Tokai, the Kinki and Chugoku western regions, and the region centered around Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan. The downgrade reflected the weakness of the country’s mainstay automobile industry.

The assessments on private consumption were lowered for Kanto and Hokuriku due to the decline in new auto sales.

Meanwhile, the views on employment conditions were raised in Hokkaido, Chugoku and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, thanks to wage hikes and other improvements in working conditions. The assessments for the remaining eight regions were kept at “picking up” or “improving.”

JIJI Press