, new gensaki, and old gensaki ), with correspondingly diverse market conventions ( chart 10 ). this is considered to be one factor that impedes efforts to improve efficiency and automation in the processing of repo transactions. in addition, it is often said that the loan - type repos cause difficulties in communication among domestic participants, and overseas authorities and participants, because the loan - type repos have the same legal characterization as securities lending in major overseas markets. consequently, the unification of repos to the new gensaki contracts will contribute to the further globalization of japan ’ s money market and lead to the vitalization of japan ’ s repo market, including transactions with foreign investors who are present here today. market participants are expected to improve their it systems, change market conventions, and seek clients ’ involvement. the bank is committed to offering support to achieve these goals. concluding remarks today, i have talked about the four key ideas regarding the reform of japan ’ s repo market : transparency, stability, efficiency, and globalization. in the creation of a market - wide infrastructure, these four ideas are important for not only the repo market but also the financial markets as a whole. the share of jgb holdings by foreign investors is expected to expand over the medium and longer term, reflecting changes in domestic savings and investment. developing a safe and attractive repo market for investors both at home and abroad would contribute to boosting liquidity in the jgb market. this would also increase trust in japan ’ s financial markets. reforms in the repo market, which were initiated by the failure of the lehman brothers, are expected to reach their final stage in two to three years. in this regard, we are at a critical moment for fulfilling the reforms. the bank judges that it is extremely important for the repo market, the epicenter of japan ’ s money market, to become more transparent, stable, efficient, and easily accessible for foreign investors. the bank will hold a repo market forum on may 14, and will exchange opinions with major repo market participants on the four key ideas behind the reform. the bank aims, together with market participants, to contribute further to the development of the repo market and to the tokyo financial market. thank you very much for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

dining - out prices, reflecting price competition with ready - made meals, and that dining - out prices excluding the consumption tax could weaken. however, looking at developments in such prices in october, it appears that the tax hike has been passed on almost completely. although the dining - out industry is making efforts to save labor and improve efficiency in response to increases such as in personnel expenses and distribution costs, there have been moves to gradually pass on cost increases that cannot be absorbed through such efforts. this suggests that many dining out - related firms have passed on the tax hike to selling prices. these moves also can be observed in other services. of course, attention needs to be paid to the fact that firms'price - setting behavior may change depending on future developments in consumption. however, no major change in their price - setting stance has been observed so far and it seems that firms have continued to pass on costs including the consumption tax. taking account of this situation, i will explain the bank's view on the outlook for prices. for the time being, it is likely that the year - on - year rate of change in energy prices will remain negative due to the effects of the past decline in crude oil prices, and thereby push down the cpi. however, from a somewhat longer - term perspective, the bank projects that the inflation rate will rise gradually, with firms'and households'perception of prices improving in a situation where the economy continues on an expanding trend. while it is expected to still take time to achieve the price stability target of 2 percent, the inflation rate is likely to increase gradually toward 2 percent. one of the assumed important mechanisms for the achievement of such price rises is the output gap of the economy as a whole ( chart 11 ). looking at the output gap, which shows the balance between aggregate demand and supply, a positive gap has taken hold for the past few years, with demand exceeding supply. based on the outlook for economic activity that i mentioned earlier, although the output gap is likely to narrow temporarily within positive territory, mainly due to the effects of the global economic slowdown and the consumption tax hike, it is expected to remain at around the current level on average. under these circumstances, as households'tolerance of price rises increases, reflecting a rise in wages, and firms'stance shifts toward further raising prices, not only firms'moves to pass on cost increases but their active moves to raise prices that reflect developments in demand are likely to be more widespread. with wages and prices