In sum, although the pace of improvement in the household sector has been somewhat slow relative to the strength in the corporate sector, Japan's economy as a whole is expanding moderately. On the price front, domestic corporate goods prices have recently been about the same as their levels of three months earlier.
The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI) excluding fresh food has recently been around 0 percent due to the drop in crude oil prices. BIS Review 46/2007  1  III. Characteristics of the current economic expansion  Let me now review the characteristics of the current economic expansion, in order to project the future course of the economy.