Ella 
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its assessment of six of Japan’s nine economic regions in a quarterly report on Japan’s regional economies.
The assessment for three of Japan’s nine regions was maintained in the quarterly report.
Economies are picking up or recovering modestly in all regions.
Exports and output moved sideways in many regions.
Many businesses say they want to keep an eye on price developments and what their competitors are doing when deciding how much to raise wages next year.
Given the structural shortage of labor, many businesses expect to continue raising wages.
Many regions say the practice of companies raising prices to pass on costs is slowing, but others are seeing companies setting prices based on expectations of future wage increases.
Some branch managers said companies believe the weak yen and rising crude oil prices are exacerbating cost pressures.
