In 1991, the Bank of Japan invited Asian counterparts to form EMEAP, consisting of eleven central banks and monetary authorities in the region. EMEAP has since then celebrated a number of concrete achievements in regional financial cooperation, including the establishment of the Asian Bond Fund. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  following a gradual increase in China and Japan a few years earlier.
The rate of headline inflation was slightly negative in May and is expected to hover at low levels over the coming months. While lower oil prices continue to act as a drag on the annual headline inflation, domestic price pressures, notably from wage growth, also remain muted, reflecting persistent economic slack.