BoJ branch managers upgrade two regions and flag the Kumamoto earthquake in Kyushu
Victoria Shinder1 min readThe Bank of Japan released its Regional Economic Report for October on 8 October, summarising what its branches gathered for the meeting of branch general managers held that day.
The overview. All nine regions reported that their economies were recovering moderately, picking up, or picking up moderately, although some weakness had been seen in part.
What changed since July. Comparing the wording region by region:
- Tohoku moved from picking up to recovering moderately — an upgrade.
- Shikoku moved from picking up moderately to picking up — an upgrade.
- Kyushu-Okinawa kept recovering moderately, although some weakness has been seen in part, but now attributes that weakness mainly to the effects of the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake. Production there has begun to increase moderately, with some weakness from the earthquake.
- Kanto-Koshinetsu, the region that includes Tokyo, still cites weakness partly due to the situation in the Middle East.
- Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Tokai, Kinki and Chugoku kept their July wording.
By component. Business fixed investment is increasing or on an increasing trend in every region except Kyushu-Okinawa, where it is at a high level. Employment and income are improving everywhere, moderately in seven regions. Private consumption is described as resilient or recovering, but several regions add despite the impact of price rises. Housing investment is the weak spot: weak or relatively weak in six regions, and only stopping its decline in Tohoku and Hokuriku.
Why it matters for the yen. The report gives no rate signal by itself, but a picture of broad, slow recovery with rising investment and improving incomes in every region removes one argument for waiting — and it arrives with the Middle East and price rises still named as the drag.