By contrast, in Japan, the unemployment rate has declined to 3.5 percent, which is below the trough prior to the global financial crisis, and there is limited slack in the economy. On the other hand as I have explained, under 15 years of deflation, deflationary expectations became entrenched and medium- to long-term inflation expectations drifted down to a very low level.
Monetary policy implementation and the collateral framework are, of course, subject to ongoing review and there will, no doubt, be issues to occupy you well into the future. As regards the conduct of monetary policy, the Governing Council has a good record in maintaining price stability over the last four years. We are currently living in uncertain times.