Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda 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 December assesses the current state of the Japanese economy, stating that "The Japanese economy shows weakness recently due to deceleration of the world economy."

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 with the improvement of the overseas economy while reconstruction demand props up the domestic economy. However, a degree of uncertainty about the overseas economies remains high, implying downside risks 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."