— BOJ 7 Out of 9 Regions Keep Econ View From Jan

TOKYO (MNI) – The Bank of Japan said on Thursday that two out of
the nine regions in Japan upgraded their regional economic view from
three months ago.

“The Tokai and Shikoku regions reported that their economic
assessment had improved from the previous report: the Tokai region noted
that the economy had continued to pick up; and the Shikoku region noted
the economy had been picking up as a whole, as some weakness observed on
the production side had begun to ease,” the latest quarterly region
economic report released on Thursday showed.

It also said, “Compared with the last assessment in January 2012,
six regions reported that their economic assessment had not changed
significantly from the previous report.”

It also said, “Specifically, these regions noted that–mainly due
to the effects of the slowdown in overseas economies and the
appreciation of the yen — the pace of the pick-up remained moderate,
the economy had been more or less unchanged, or the economy had paused.”

The quake-hit Tohoku region reported, “developments in economic
activity observed as a whole, as evident from the following factors: (1)
economic activity in non-stricken areas had been above pre-earthquake
levels due to the demand stemming from the earthquake disaster, and (2)
there were signs of resumption in economic activity even in the stricken
areas.”

At the previous meeting in January, the BOJ said, “Compared with
the last assessment in October, 2011, seven regions reported that the
pick-up in their economic activities had paused recently, mainly due to
the effects of a slowdown in overseas economies.”

The quarterly economic report, or Sakura Report, is equivalent to
the U.S. Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book.”

The BOJ board will discuss the prospects for Japan’s economy based
on today’s reports as well as economic data, including developments of
overseas economy, at the April 27 policy-setting meeting.

BOJ policymakers will release the semi-annual Outlook Report,
including the forecasts for real economic growth and core consumer
prices up to fiscal 2013 starting on April 1, 2013.

As for assessment of major individual economic components, six
regions reported capital investment was picking up or increasing.

On production, five regions “reported that it was more or less
unchanged, mainly due to weak exports stemming from the slowdown in
overseas economies and the effects of the appreciation of the yen.”

“Six regions reported a pick-up or continued increase in private
consumption,” the report said.

As for the employment situation, “Most regions reported that it had
been improving as a trend.” “Many regions also noted that household
income had stopped declining.”

Earlier on Thursday, BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa repeated his
warnings of higher uncertainty over the global economy and European
sovereign debt problems.

In his opening remarks to BOJ branch managers gathered for a
quarterly meeting in Tokyo, Shirakawa also said, “The BOJ needs to pay
attention to developments in international commodity prices and medium-
to long-term inflation expectations.”

“There remains a high degree of uncertainty about the global
economy, including the prospects for the European debt problems,
developments in international commodity prices, and the likelihood of
emerging and commodity-exporting economies simultaneously achieving
price stability and economic growth,” Shirakawa said.

tokyo@marketnews.com
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