At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Jōnai Minoru (城内実) said the government would maintain its policy of making a cautious assessment before declaring an end to deflation. Following the BOJ's judgment that the underlying inflation rate had reached 2%, the government indicated that it would proceed with monetary policy operations after assessing factors including the output gap.
At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Jōnai Minoru (城内実) said he would maintain his previous view that it was necessary to make a cautious assessment before declaring an end to the sustained decline in prices.
Following the BOJ's judgment on 30 October that the underlying inflation rate had reached the current target of 2%, he disclosed his view on the matter for the first time as the minister in charge.
The government has stated that the condition for declaring an end to deflation is that deflation will not return, and indicated that the Cabinet Office would oversee the practical assessment.
Jōnai Minoru (城内実) said it was necessary to carefully assess whether the positive output gap would persist, including future trends. He also expressed the view that the BOJ would conduct monetary policy appropriately to achieve its target on a sustained and stable basis.