TOKYO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) downgraded its assessments of all nine of the country's regional economies for a second straight quarter on Thursday, owing to the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the central bank's quarterly Sakura report it said that compared to April all regional economies had either deteriorated or were in a severe situation.
In a teleconference held with the regional heads of the central bank, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank would unroll further monetary easing measures if necessary to continue to support the country's recession-hit economy.
"Japan's economy has been in an extremely severe situation due to the pandemic," Kuroda told the bank's regional branch managers.
Kuroda did note a tone of optimism, however, adding, "The economy will pick up with an expected rise in output, an accommodative monetary environment and the government's economic stimulus packages once the virus is subdued."
The quarterly report highlighted the severity of falling consumption, employment as well as income, as a result of the pandemic and related social and business restrictions under the state of emergency declaration issued in April though late May, with its assessment for these categories lowered for all nine regional economies.
A downturn in domestic corporate expenditure as well as slumping overseas demand, was also highlighted in the BOJ's report as concerning a wide range and number of businesses.
The tourism sector has been particularly hard-hit due to the pandemic the report mentioned, but also noted that in Japan's Tokai region, "While exports of auto parts to North America keep falling, those to China have been picking up."
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