A quarterly report released by the Bank of Japan on Monday revealed that the outlook for the economic conditions in seven of the country’s nine regions has dimmed, the WSJ reports. While the central bank doesn’t think the regions risk a downward trend, rather saying some of the regional economies have “paused”, the strength of the yen and decreased demand from overseas has had a markedly negative impact. Officials at the BOJ see the sovereign debt crisis in Europe as a key concern. Meanwhile the WSJ also reports that the tax policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party has warned that Japan itself may be subject to a downgrade on its debt if the government doesn’t raise sales tax in order to financing increasing social security costs.
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