Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a meeting of the Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Monthly Economic Report for January assesses the current state of the Japanese economy, stating that "While the Japanese economy shows weakness recently due to deceleration of the world economy, signs of bottoming out can be seen in some areas."

On prospects for the economy, it states "Concerning short-term prospects, weakness would remain for the time being but the recovery is expected to resume while supported by the improvement of export conditions and the effect of the policy package. However, slowing down of overseas economies is still downside risk of the Japanese economy. Also, attention should be paid to the employment and income situations over the future, and the adverse effects of deflation on the economy."