The Bank therefore judged it appropriate to take drastic measures focusing on achieving the price stability target of 2 percent at the earliest possible time and embarked on bold measures that were substantially different from those in the past, such as the significant expansion of the monetary base. Such powerful monetary easing likely played a role in the substantial improvement of Japan's economy.
On the price front, the economy already is no longer in deflation in the sense of a sustained decline in prices. However, prices have continued to show relatively weak developments compared to the economic expansion and the labor market tightening, and it is still taking time to achieve the price stability target.