The government is considering revising down its assessment of the current state of the domestic economy in the Monthly Economic Report in March for the first time in three months.
As the spread of the new coronavirus has been adversely affecting consumer spending and corporate activities, it is believed that a rapid economic downturn is likely unavoidable.
The February report described the state of the domestic economy as "Recovering at a moderate pace, while increased weakness mainly among manufacturers is continuing."
The report maintained that the domestic economy "is recovering at a moderate pace" -- a phrase that has been used since January 2018.
The government is arranging a meeting of Cabinet ministers related to the Monthly Economic Report to be held on March 26 at the earliest.
Because private consumption, which had supported upturn trends of the domestic economy, has been increasingly slowing down, the focus will be whether the March report will keep the same expression regarding its recovery.
An increasing number of private-sector economic research institutions have predicted that the real gross domestic product in the January-March quarter will fall into large-scale negative growth for the second quarter in a row.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, state minister for economic and fiscal policy, indicated that the government will consider large-scale economic stimulus measures. At a press conference after Friday's Cabinet meeting he said, "Effects have appeared that are really serious on the Japanese economy, and we have a sense of urgency."
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