Japan MOF Upgrades Kanto, Tokai Economic Views in July Report

Tokyo, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Ministry of Finance upgraded its economic assessments of the Kanto eastern and Tokai central regions in a quarterly report for July released Wednesday.

The ministry, however, deferred its assessment of the Kyushu southwestern region following an earthquake that registered a seismic intensity of up to 7 on Japan's scale in the region's Kumamoto Prefecture. It pointed to the need to fully assess the disaster's overall impact on the regional economy.

The MOF left its overall assessment of the nation's economy unchanged, saying it is "recovering moderately" while cautioning that developments in the Middle East warrant close monitoring.

The ministry's regional finance bureaus reviewed economic conditions over the latest three months.

The ministry raised its assessment of Kanto to "recovering moderately" from "picking up," and that of Tokai to "recovering" from "recovering moderately."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]