"Many business executives in the region say they have a sense of uncertainty over the impact of trade friction on their businesses," said Yasuhiro Yamada, head of the BOJ's branch in Osaka, which is home to electronics giants like Panasonic.

"But none of them say their companies were directly hit" by the tariffs that the United States and China have imposed on each other, Yamada told a news conference.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher)