Seiji Adachi: Economic activity, prices, and monetary policy in Japan

Speech by Mr Seiji Adachi, Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan, at a meeting with local leaders in Nagano (via webcast), 12 November 2020.

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

I. Impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Economic Developments at Home and Abroad

A. Developments regarding COVID-19

I would like to begin my speech by talking about developments regarding COVID-19.

The outbreak of COVID-19 was first identified in China in January 2020, spreading to Europe from late February. The number of confirmed cases in Europe and the United States peaked out temporarily in around April, but thereafter the disease spread rapidly to emerging economies other than China. Developments regarding COVID-19 continue to warrant attention as a resurgence in confirmed cases has been observed recently in the United States and Europe (Chart 1).

Meanwhile, in Japan, the number of confirmed cases surged from late March, and the government declared a state of emergency in April. Although the state of emergency was lifted in May, the number of cases started to increase again from around July and then turned to a decline; thereafter, the number has been fluctuating (Chart 1). However, the pace of increase in the number of cases in Japan has been moderate compared with other major economies, with severe cases and confirmed deaths remaining contained.