II. Price developments in Japan  Let me now turn to the price developments in Japan. The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI, all items excluding fresh food) turned positive in June 2013 for the first time in 14 months and has recently been accelerating to the range of 0.5–1.0 percent.
*** Before concluding my remarks, I should like to stress an important constraint that will guide all our actions in relation to the three above-mentioned steps. Whatever the intensity of the Eurosystem's involvement in the enlargement process, we will always focus on the maintenance of price stability in the euro area.