The Bank of Japan upgraded its assessment of the Tohoku and Shikoku regional economies in the Sakura report, citing demand linked to artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
The Bank of Japan on Thursday upgraded its assessment of two of the country's nine regional economies as demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure and products increased, Kyodo News reported. The quarterly Sakura report lifted Tohoku, in the northeast, and Shikoku, in the west.
Kyodo said every region was described as recovering moderately, picking up, or picking up moderately. The bank still saw weaknesses in some regions, in part because of tensions in the Middle East.
The digest did not publish new policy-rate language or a change to the national outlook. The upgrade is a regional assessment, not a decision by the policy board.
Kyodo did not list the previous wording for Tohoku and Shikoku. The reported change is the direction of the assessment.
The next national policy meeting is a separate event and was not decided in this report.