However, this outlook is attended by a range of risks, examples of which include a substantial rise in international commodity prices, a delay in the narrowing of the negative output gap due to slower-than-expected growth of the Japanese economy, and a decline in the public’s medium- to long-term inflation expectations reflecting their pessimistic outlook for the economy.
As you may know, the base year for the CPI will be revised in August 2011, and it is highly likely that the year-on-year rate of change in the CPI on the basis of the new base year will be lower than that on the basis of the current base year.