Finance ministry raises views on Hokkaido, Okinawa

August 2, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's Finance Ministry raised its economic assessments on Tuesday on the Hokkaido and Okinawa regions, citing improved personal consumption and the strong performance of the tourism industry.

The upgrade in the ministry's quarterly assessments is the first in two years for Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, and in nine months for Okinawa, the southernmost part of the country.

The assessments on the nine other regions were left unchanged.

The ministry kept intact its assessment on the whole of the Japanese economy for the eighth consecutive quarter, saying it "is recovering moderately."

The ministry raised its assessments on personal consumption in the Hokkaido, Kanto, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Fukuoka and Okinawa regions thanks to rising vehicle and cosmetics sales.

It also revised up its assessments on production in Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Tokai and Okinawa on the back of strong output of vehicles and smartphone parts.

The assessments on employment remained unchanged in all regions. Jiji Press