The devastating effects of the crises can be illustrated by a few statistics from some of the affected countries. According to a recent World Bank report, prices of key commodities, such as rice, increased by 25 per cent or more in Indonesia, leading to food riots and major demonstrations against the Government.
With a series of those measures, borrowing interest rates for firms and households have been declining. The stimulative effects from the low interest rates would further increase, due to the improvement in corporate profits. As I have mentioned earlier, Japan’s economy shows further signs of a moderate recovery.