The Bank of Japan (BOJ) upgraded its economic view of three out of nine regions. Along with other signals of the economic recovery, this is fuelling speculation that the central bank will tighten its monetary policy.
In particular, the central bank upgraded its assessment of the economy of the northern prefectures and the western regions, including Osaka.
According to the quarterly report of the Bank of Japan, the labor market, consumer spending and exports improved in these regions.
The two regions witnessed their economies expanding, for the first time in more than 20 years, with the growth rates increasing meagerly or moderately. With respect to the country as a whole, the central bank canceled the view of continuation of moderate growth.
The head of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda also said that the country’s inflation will eventually reach the target level of 2%. He pledged to maintain the ultra-loose monetary policy until inflation is stably above the target.
