Japan says economy recovering in 2nd quarter

Japan's economy gradually recovered in the second quarter of this year, a government report said Friday, maintaining the same wording as in the assessment for the previous quarter.

Weaknesses in areas such as consumption and employment showed signs of improvement, the Finance Ministry said in its report.

The report on regional economies says the ministry expects a gradual recovery in the coming months, but attention should be paid to the impact of high crude oil prices and of inventory adjustments in the information technology sector.

Nine of the 11 regions covered in the report left the assessment of their economies unchanged, while the remaining two -- Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefectures -- revised their assessments upward for the reporting period.

The report said employment marked "improvement" or "gradual improvement" in all 11 regions.

Source: Xinhua