In addition, as business activity increases, the employment and income situation is likely to gradually improve, and growth in private consumption and housing investment is expected to accelerate. Based on these projections, Japan’s economy, following a contraction of 1.9 percent in fiscal 2009, is expected to grow by around 2 percent in both fiscal 2010 and 2011. Let me now turn to price developments.
On a year-on-year basis, the CPI excluding fresh food continues to decline, although the pace of decline has been slowing since it peaked in August last year at minus 2.4 percent. In April 2010, it was minus 1.0 percent excluding the effects of subsidies for high school tuition fees.