Results of the Regional Economic and Industrial Research (October-December 2012)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has compiled the results of the regional economic and industrial research, which the regional Bureaus of Economy, Trade and Industry (including the Hokuriku Branch of the Electricity and Gas Industry, and the Economy, Trade and Industry Department of the Okinawa General Bureau) conduct on a quarterly basis to identify regional economic trends, and METI hereby releases the results.

Highlights of the results
No assessments of economic conditions in regions were revised upward this quarter, and the assessments in two regions, the Hokkaido and Okinawa regions, remained unchanged. The assessments of economic conditions in eight regions (Tohoku, Kanto, Tokai, Hokuriku, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu areas) were revised downward due to domestic demand decreases in a wide variety of industries amid the continuous slowdown of the overseas economy.

Overall, METI revised the assessments of regional economic conditions downward as "regional economic conditions are weakening."