activities. v. concluding remarks i sometimes describe central banking in terms of the role of the goalkeeper in a football team. it is rare for goalkeepers to score a goal themselves, but what they do is support their teammates in their efforts to score by defending their goal from the enemy's attacks. in defense, it is vital to read the enemy's offensive strategy ; in the conduct of monetary policy, it is essential to accurately assess the risk profiles of economic activity and financial market conditions. when on the offensive, good teamwork is important ; in monetary policy terms, it is important to facilitate the efficient allocation of resources and stimulate innovation. the dynamic progress of economic globalization brings with it challenges for central banks such as i have discussed today, but we intend to grapple with them and bring victory to the team by supporting players in the globalized economy. thank you.

exports and overall corporate activity in japan. on the domestic front, a downside risk is that spending and investment by households and firms will be dampened further by weak growth bis central bankers ’ speeches expectations due to population decline as well as concerns regarding the pension system and the fiscal deficit. on the other hand, if, such concerns were to ease, this could lead to an increase in spending and investment. c. recent price developments next, i will move on to price developments. prices in international commodity markets have recently been increasing, reflecting particularly the growth in emerging economies and inflows of surplus funds due to monetary easing in advanced economies. as a result, import prices in japan have been rising, despite the considerable downward pressure from the ongoing appreciation of the yen. the domestic corporate goods price index ( cgpi ), which measures fluctuations in prices of goods traded between firms in japan, has also been rising moderately. in contrast, the year - on - year rate of change in the consumer price index ( cpi ) excluding fresh food ( the core cpi ), which measures the price of goods and services purchased by households, has been in negative territory since march 2009, indicating that deflation is continuing. however, since reaching a year - on - year rate of decline of 2. 4 percent in august 2009, the pace of decline in the core cpi has been moderating. meanwhile, the pace of decline in the cpi excluding food and energy, or the core - core cpi, which is less susceptible to international commodity price fluctuations, has also been moderating after the year - onyear rate of decline reaching 1. 6 percent in april and may 2010. likely reasons are the increase in international commodity prices and the narrowing of the negative output gap as a result of the recovery of the japanese economy. in terms of the outlook, the year - on - year pace of decline in the core cpi is expected to continue slowing, reflecting the rise in international commodity prices and the narrowing of the negative output gap, and i think that the rate of change in the cpi may even enter positive territory in fiscal 2011. however, needless to say, there are risks to the outlook for prices, just as there are risks to economic activity. first, there is the possibility of an upswing in international commodity prices caused by strong growth in emerging economies. on the other hand, if pessimism among the public spreads due to a slower - than - expected recovery of the economy, there could be a decline in