The underlying trend in inflation, as I will explain later, has continued to be of improvement, although the year-on-year rate of increase in the consumer price index (CPI) has declined, due in particular to the effects of the substantial decline in crude oil prices since last summer, and recently has been about 0 percent.
*  *  *  Accompanying charts can also be found on the Bank of Japan’s website. Introduction It is always a great pleasure to speak at the Economic Policy Symposium here in Jackson Hole. I would like to thank Ms. Esther George, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, for inviting me to this panel.