Japan’s regional economies are “on the way to recovery” amid an improvement in industrial production and consumer confidence, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday, upgrading its overall assessment for the three months through December for the fourth straight quarter.
It was the first time for the ministry to raise the assessment for four quarters in a row since it started to compile the report in the current manner from April 2004, a ministry official said.
Out of 11 regions, nine were upgraded, including Kanto centering on Tokyo and Tokai in central Japan, where Toyota Motor Corp. is headquartered, with the yen’s slide helping boost the profitability of export-oriented manufacturers and their output.
Many regions also saw consumer sentiment improving as the economy shows signs of recovering on the back of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies dubbed “Abenomics,” entailing drastic monetary easing and massive fiscal spending, the official said.
