Overview
- At a November 6 meeting of national financial bureau chiefs, the Finance Ministry left its October regional assessments unchanged across all 11 areas.
- The national baseline view remained that the economy is gradually recovering despite pockets of weakness.
- Judgments for personal consumption, production activity, and employment were maintained with no revisions.
- The report flagged continued price increases and potential effects from U.S. trade policy as key risks to the outlook.
- Firm interviews conducted from mid‑September to mid‑October noted stable domestic production in transport equipment, while Kinki kept its view for a ninth straight quarter and Shikoku downgraded production and housing construction.