however, deterioration had been observed in the functioning of japan's bond markets, particularly in terms of relative relationships among interest rates of bonds with different maturities and arbitrage relationships between spot and futures markets. for example, interest rates of bonds with 8 - 9 years of maturity had been higher than those of bonds with 10 - year maturity, and a price gap had been observed between spot and futures markets. in addition, while the yields for on - the - run issues of 10 - year jgbs, which are eligible for fixed - rate purchase operations, had been at 0. 25 percent or lower, issues of 20 - year jgbs with a residual maturity of 10 years were traded at a higher interest rate ( chart 5 ). as you know, yields on jgbs are reference rates for corporate bond yields, bank lending rates, and other funding rates. we had seen such distortions in the jgb market being adjusted in the corporate bond market in the form of an expansion in their spreads. financial conditions, mainly of firms, remain accommodative on the whole, but our view was that if the aforementioned market conditions persist, this could have a negative impact on financial conditions such as issuance conditions for corporate bonds. with a view to improving market functioning while maintaining accommodative financial conditions, the bank decided to implement several measures in conducting yield curve control. first, the bank will maintain the yield curve at a low level by increasing the amount of monthly jgb purchases from 7. 3 trillion yen to about 9 trillion yen. moreover, it will expand the range of 10 - year jgb yield fluctuations from the target level : from between around plus and minus 0. 25 percentage points to between around plus and minus 0. 5 percentage points. other than with regard to the maturity of 10 years, the bank will make nimble responses for each maturity by increasing the amount of jgb purchases even more and conducting fixed - rate purchase operations. these measures will make it possible for the bank to encourage a smoother formation of the yield curve while maintaining it at a low level. in fact, under the guideline for market operations decided at the december monetary policy meeting, yield increases for jgbs with maturities other than 10 years were contained, although there has been a rise in 10 - year jgb yields, which had seen a distortion ( chart 6 ). furthermore, with respect to policy responses to the corporate bond market, the bank is currently adjusting

difference in the timing of the economic resumption from the pandemic and to the fact that, unlike in the united states and europe, accommodative financial conditions have been maintained in japan. moreover, while unemployment rates are likely to rise in the united states and europe, it is expected that the rate will fall further in japan and that labor market conditions will tighten. the bank of japan aims at achieving the price stability target in a sustainable and stable manner, accompanied by wage increases. today, i would like to talk about economic activity and prices in japan and the recent conduct of monetary policy based on their developments, and then discuss in detail the characteristics of the labor market and wage formation in japan. i. recent economic and price developments and the bank's conduct of monetary policy economic and price developments let me start with economic developments. japan's economy, despite being affected by factors such as high commodity prices, has picked up as the resumption of economic activity has progressed while public health has been protected from covid - 19 ( chart 2 ). the driving force behind the pick - up in the economy has been the recovery in services demand, which is associated with the resumption of economic activity, and the virtuous cycle in the corporate sector from profits to investment. looking at services demand, economic activity in the accommodations as well as eating and drinking services industries, which had been constrained by covid - 19, has picked up clearly. the introduction of the government's domestic travel discount program in october has also boosted the recovery in demand. the average number of inbound visitors for the january - september period was low - - being only around 4 percent of the number recorded in pre - pandemic 2019. however, reflecting the easing of covid - 19 border controls in october, the number of inbound visitors has improved : the figures for october and november 2022 were 20 percent and 38 percent, respectively, of the number recorded in 2019. given this improvement, inbound tourism demand has started to recover. the increase in mobility has had a positive effect not only on the accommodations as well as eating and drinking services industries, but also on the transportation industry and the entertainment and recreation industry. turning to the corporate sector, profits have remained at high levels, despite headwinds such as high commodity prices. business fixed investment on an sna basis has recovered moderately, with quarter - on - quarter rates of change increasing to 2. 0 percent for the april