The Finance Ministry on Tuesday upgraded its economic view on Okinawa Prefecture, reflecting robust vehicle sales and an increase in Japanese and foreign tourists.
In a quarterly report, the ministry left its view on the other 10 regions unchanged. It also adopted the same national economic assessment for the ninth straight quarter, saying that the economy remains on a gradual recovery trend.
The ministry’s local finance bureaus across the country reviewed regional economic situations in the past three months and reported the outcome at a meeting of local bureau heads Tuesday.
By category, the government upgraded its view on private consumption in the Tohoku region and Okinawa while revising down that in the southwestern region comprising Fukuoka and two nearby prefectures.
Regarding production, the ministry downgraded its view on the Hokuriku region and the Kinki region but upgraded that on Okinawa.
“It is unclear how the U.S. tariff policies will affect the economy,” a machinery industry company in Kinki was quoted as saying. “Corporate investment related to vehicle production may have been postponed, leading to sluggish demand for analytical instruments.”
On employment, the ministry left its view unchanged in all 11 regions.
Looking ahead, it said the economy is expected to recover moderately, backed by improvement in employment and income conditions. It also called for a close watch on effects of persisting inflation and the U.S. trade policies.
