Japan’s economy is also faced with a major turning point due to a demographic vortex. In addition, the Great East Japan earthquake occurred, and Japan’s economy is faced with yet another challenge. Today, bearing in mind the medium- to long-term challenges Japan is faced with, I will talk about economic developments at home and abroad and the Bank’s policy responses. I.
Turning now to international trade, export growth has been a bright spot for the U.S. economy, boosted by past declines in the exchange value of the dollar and solid economic growth abroad. Indeed, rising demand for U.S. exports has offset some of the negative effects on producers here in the United States from the deterioration in domestic spending.