Corporate profits have been at a level close to record highs, and labor market conditions have tightened, as evidenced by the fact that the unemployment rate has declined to around 3 percent. Under these circumstances, the environment for wage increases is certainly well established.
The fourth point is that, as the Bank pursues powerful monetary easing under its "inflation-overshooting commitment," inflation expectations will likely rise. I will elaborate on this later. In this manner, it is the Bank's assessment that, despite the recent weakness in price developments, the momentum toward achieving the price stability target of 2 percent seems to be maintained.