Presumably, one lesson learned from the spread of the Omicron variant in the January-March quarter of 2022 is that it will take some more time before the pandemic completely ends; rather, it will continue to exist in successive waves.
If this proves to be true, there may be a risk that the scenario -- in which pent-up demand that has accumulated during the pandemic materializes and consumption subsequently recovers at an accelerated pace -- will not be realized for the time being. B. Prices 1. Current situation in Japan Let me now turn to prices.