I. Economic Developments Let me start by talking about economic developments. Japan's economy is expanding moderately, with a virtuous cycle from income to spending being maintained in both the corporate and household sectors.
Although the real GDP growth rate for the January-March quarter temporarily marked negative growth, due mainly to irregular weather, after continuing to register positive growth for eight consecutive quarters, the rate for the April-June quarter showed a return to firm growth, representing 3.0 percent on an annualized basis (Chart 1).