For the January–March quarter, the year-on-year rate of change in real compensation of employees registered minus 0.6 percent, which was significantly lower than the 3.7 percent increase in real private consumption. In a situation where real wages per employee are likely to continue declining for the time being, the pace of improvement in real compensation of employees is likely to be moderate.
In such a case, the uptrend in private consumption may weaken, leading to a slower rise in the inflation rate. Thus, careful monitoring of future developments is required. Nevertheless, I personally consider that, even if the uptrend in private consumption weakens slightly, this will not necessarily have negative effects on the economy in the long run.