I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk about recent developments in Japan’s economy and present an overall review of the Bank’s conduct of monetary policy. I. Economic and financial developments in Japan  I will first explain economic and financial developments in Japan.
Japan’s economy faced strong downward pressure, mainly on the production side, due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11. The earthquake disaster caused damage to production facilities in a wide range of areas and consequent constraints on the supply of parts and materials led to supply-chain disruptions.