Takako Masai: Economic activity, prices and monetary policy in Japan

Speech by Ms Takako Masai, Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan, at a meeting with business leaders, Nagano, 5 July 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

I. Developments in Economic Activity and Prices

I would like to start my speech with a look at developments in economic activity and prices.

At the Monetary Policy Meeting (MPM) held on April 26 and 27, 2018, the Bank of Japan published the Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices, or the Outlook Report. In this report, the Bank presented its projections for Japan's economic activity and prices through fiscal 2020.

I will explain developments in economic activity and prices by presenting the main content of the Outlook Report.

A. Overseas Economies

Let me first touch on developments in overseas economies. The Bank's assessment is that overseas economies have continued to grow firmly on the whole.