Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama 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 May assesses the current state of the Japanese economy, stating that "Although the economy has been picking up steadily, it is only weakly self-sustaining and remains in a difficult situation such as a high unemployment rate."

On prospects for the economy, it states "As for short-term prospects, although some severe aspects remain in the employment situation, the economy is expected to pick up as corporate profits improve, reflecting improvement in overseas economies and the effects of policy measures including the Emergency Economic Measures. On the other hand, attention should be given to the risks that the economy is depressed by a possible slowdown in overseas economies, especially in Europe, fluctuations in the financial and capital markets, and the influence of deflation. It should also be noted that there is still concern that the employment situation could deteriorate."