real gdp growth rate of 0. 3 percent on a quarter - on - quarter basis and 1. 3 percent on an annualized basis. the economy registered positive growth for the first time in two quarters, reflecting the pick - up in private consumption and business fixed investment, although public health measures have been retightened due to the spread of covid - 19. the right panel of chart 4 shows developments in the real gdp level. this suggests that economic improvement from the plunge for the april - june quarter of 2020 has come to a pause. chart 5 shows the outlook for japan ’ s economy. as presented in the july 2021 outlook for economic activity and prices ( outlook report ), the medians of the bank of japan policy board members ’ forecasts for real gdp growth rates are 3. 8 percent for fiscal 2021, 2. 7 percent for fiscal 2022, and 1. 3 percent for fiscal 2023. japan ’ s economy is likely to follow a recovery trend, with the impact of covid - 19 waning gradually, mainly due to progress with vaccinations. the recovery trend is also supported by an expansion in external demand, accommodative financial conditions, and the government ’ s economic measures. thereafter, as the impact subsides, the economy is expected to show higher growth. having said that, attention should be paid to downside risks for the time being, mainly due to the impact of covid - 19. in particular, the future course of covid - 19 as well as accompanying downside risks to economic activity and prices continue to warrant close attention. so far, i have described the outlook for japan ’ s economy based on the outlook report. i would now like to examine developments in major gdp components such as private consumption, business fixed investment, and exports. let me start with private consumption. chart 6 shows developments in real private consumption by type, such as durable goods, non - durable goods, and services. with regard to developments from 2013, it declined in 2014 and 2019, years when consumption tax was raised. these declines were largely attributable to the fall in goods consumption ; services consumption remained relatively firm. since 2020, real private consumption has declined again due to the impact of covid - 19. a distinctive feature of this decline is that it has been caused by the drop in services consumption, such as tourism, accommodation, eating and drinking, and recreation. durable goods consumption has been picking up from the bottom hit in

the output gap by conducting more powerful monetary easing is a requisite for achieving the 2 percent price stability target and maintaining the inflation rate at that level. thank you. 1 vaccinations have been progressing since march 2021, and more than 4. 8 billion vaccine doses have been administered in total worldwide. regarding developments by region, vaccinations have been slow in developing countries such as those in africa. 2 for details, see bank of japan, “ the bank of japan ’ s strategy on climate change, ” july 16, 2021, 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches www. boj. or. jp / en / announcements / release _ 2021 / rel210716b. pdf. in this strategy, the bank indicates its measures to address climate change in areas such as monetary policy, the financial system, research, and international finance. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches