Economy Recovering, But Some Weakness Seen in Output: MOF

Tokyo, April 25 (Jiji Press)--Japan's economy is recovering, the Ministry of Finance said Thursday, while adding the description that weakness is seen in part of production. The MOF continued to see the economic recovery thanks to the improving employment situation and the relative strength of personal consumption. The weakness in production reflects the slowing growth of China's economy amid its trade friction with the United States, according to the ministry. The ministry adopted the economic assessment at the day's meeting of chiefs of its local finance bureaus. The economic overviews were left unchanged for all 11 regions. But the MOF newly cited weakness in part of production for the Kanto eastern and Kyushu southwestern regions. By sector, the assessment of production was lowered for Kanto, Kyushu, the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the Hokuriku central region and the Kinki western region. The downward revisions were due to falls in demand for chipmaking equipment and smartphone components, a MOF official said, noting that orders from China have been sluggish. END