With regard to prices, import prices have recently fallen slightly due to the appreciation of the yen, despite the rise in international commodity prices such as crude oil prices. Domestic wholesale prices are levelling off due to the progress in inventory adjustment as well as an increase in prices of some products closely related to international commodities, such as those of petroleum products.
The monetary accommodation of fiscal deficits and in  some instances direct controls on interest and exchange rates resulted in severe financial repression. 4. The independence of central banks then was largely non-existent and government economic policies were mostly directives for state institutions, including the central bank.