Social and economic activities have been constrained significantly as a result of preventive measures against the spread taken by each country and region, such as restrictions on going outside and immigration/emigration, as well as orders to suspend business and production activities. Thus, the global economy has become depressed rapidly and Japan's economy has been in an increasingly severe situation.
At the end of April, the Bank released the Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices (Outlook Report), which presents three points. First, downward pressure on the global economy is expected to be extremely significant as economic activity is likely to be constrained worldwide until the impact of the spread of COVID-19 wanes (Chart 1).