I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk about recent developments in Japan’s economy and present an overall review of the Bank's conduct of monetary policy. I. Economic and financial developments in Japan  First, I will explain economic and financial developments in Japan.
Japan’s economy has been picking up as exports and industrial production have continued to improve against the background that domestic demand remains resilient. As for overseas economies, while the manufacturing sector shows a lackluster performance, they are gradually heading toward a pick-up as a whole. In this situation, exports have started picking up.