According to statistics released by the OECD, the labor force participation rate of women aged between 25 and 54 in Japan was 75.3 percent in 2017; this figure is higher than that for the United States -- which is 72.1 percent -- and the average of the G-7 countries -- which is 73.5 percent, with France at 75.2 percent, Germany at 80.0 percent, and the United Kingdom at 78.1 percent.
2 For an evaluation of past Eurosystem forecasts, see ECB (2013), “An assessment of Eurosystem staff  macroeconomic projections”, Monthly Bulletin, May. 3 See e.g. Draghi, M. (2014), “Monetary policy in a prolonged period of low inflation”, speech at the ECB Forum on  Central Banking, Sintra, 26 May. 4 See Greenspan, A.