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The Yomiuri Shimbun From right: BOJ branch general managers Yoshiki Okamoto from Sapporo Branch, Atsushi Dono from Nagoya Branch and Kenji Sakuta from Fukuoka Branch attend a press conference in Tokyo on Monday.
By Tomoki Okamoto and Yuma Ikeshita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
15:34 JST, April 8, 2025
Anxiety over tariff policies announced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is spreading throughout Japan.
Regional economic assessments remained unchanged in all nine regions of the country in the Bank of Japan’s April Regional Economic Report released on Monday. However, it pointed out uncertainty about the future due to the tariff policy is increasing.
Grim views
General managers indicated concern from firms about the U.S. trade policy’s impact on production and corporate earnings at a general managers’ meeting of the BOJ’s branches.
Some reported a grim corporate outlook at the meeting, which took place at the bank’s head office prior to the release of the report.
Every three months, the BOJ gathers branch general managers from across the country to share and study regional economic trends. Each branch already completed their research by around mid-March, so the report and regional economic assessments do not take into account the impact of the reciprocal tariffs that Trump announced in detail on April 2.
Nevertheless, the report contained a series of anxious comments.
“Amidst growing uncertainty, some companies are beginning to take a wait-and-see approach to capital investment, which is putting downward pressure on production,” said a person from the electrical machinery industry in the Kyoto Branch.
Another person from production machinery industry in the Takamatsu Branch area said, “With no sign of where the U.S. trade policy will ultimately go, overseas customers are continuing to hold off on purchases.”
Atsushi Dono, the general manager of the Nagoya Branch, stressed at a press conference at the BOJ’s head office in Tokyo on Monday that “the impact of the reciprocal tariffs on production and exports must be closely monitored.”
The Nagoya Branch oversees the Tokai region, which is home to manufacturing industries.
Kenji Sakuta, general manager of Fukuoka Branch, also stated that “concerns are spreading throughout the export manufacturing sector.”
Positive personal consumption
According to the report, there were many positive views on current personal consumption.
In addition to strong consumption related to events, some said that service consumption was also firm due to strong demand from visitors to Japan.
“Sales of high-end items such as jewelry were strong mainly among wealthy individuals and visitors to Japan,” said a representative of a department store in the Nagoya branch’s jurisdiction, according to the report.
