Goushi Kataoka: Economic activity, prices, and monetary policy in Japan

Speech (via webcast) by Mr Goushi Kataoka, Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan, at a meeting with business leaders, Okinawa, 2 September 2020.

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

I. Economic Activity and Prices A. Overseas Economies I would like to start my speech by looking at developments in overseas economies.

At the beginning of 2020, the growth pace of the global economy was expected to recover gradually. Economic developments took an unexpected turn, however, after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) - whose first case of infection was confirmed in China at the end of last year - spread worldwide. Chart 1 shows how the number of newly confirmed cases increased in China from January to February 2020, and then from March to April cases increased explosively in Europe and the United States. A further spread has been seen among emerging and developing countries such as those in South America and South Asia, making COVID-19 the most virulent pandemic since the Spanish flu in the early 20th century. The pandemic continues to evolve, with uncertainty as to when the spread of the virus will subside.