Tokyo: The Japanese economy is currently in a “state of inflation, not deflation,” Bank of Japan Governor UEDA Kazuo told a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday.

“We expect (prices) to continue to rise, just like last year and before,” Ueda said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.

Last month, Ueda told a press conference that the economy was “now far away” from deflation.

The central bank is focusing on the realization of a virtuous cycle of wage and price increases as a factor in deciding when to exit its massive monetary easing policy, including the negative interest rate.

Noting that there are “active moves” among companies in setting wages, Ueda said that such a virtuous cycle is expected to consolidate.

JIJI Press