BoJ, in its latest Regional Economic Report, upgraded its economic outlook for two of Japan’s nine regions—Tohoku and Hokuriku—citing signs of moderate recovery.
The assessment for the remaining seven regions was left unchanged, with all areas described as either “picking up” or “recovering moderately.”
The report highlighted an increasingly widespread trend of price hikes by firms aiming to accommodate rising wages. While some companies, particularly larger ones, are already deliberating the scale of wage increases, smaller firms remain cautious. Concerns about the impact of higher costs on profit margins have slowed their willingness to commit to pay raises.
