As could be expected if world economic conditions are taken into consideration, this decline in domestic production was mainly the result of a decrease in the volume of net exports. The growth in South African exports has always been closely correlated with world demand for our goods, especially the demand for our minerals and metals.
The gradual pace of change in the labor market may arise because how we work is closely related to other aspects of our way of life as well as social values and norms. I believe that the rapid socio-economic changes of recent years mentioned here at this summit will, however, bring a significant change to the Japanese labor market over time.