Japan making progress in emerging from deflation

TOKYO: Japan's economy is making progress in emerging from deflation as companies benefit from strong growth at home and abroad, a senior Bank of Japan official said on Monday.

"We're seeing some positive moves toward an end to deflation," Shinichi Uchida, head of the BOJ's Nagoya branch in central Japan, told a news conference.

Companies in the central Japan region are facing labour and capacity shortages, and would be willing to build new factories outside of the region to meet staff shortages, he said.

The city of Nagoya and the surrounding Tokai region is home to auto giant Toyota Motor Corp.