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 February assesses the current state of the Japanese economy, stating that "The Japanese economy is bottoming out, while weakness can be seen in some areas."

On prospects for the economy, it states "Concerning short-term prospects, weakness would remain for the time being in some areas but the recovery is expected to resume gradually supported by the improvement of confidence, the improvement of export conditions and the effect of the policy package and monetary policy. 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."