covid - 19 but also for various reasons, such as an increase in working capital due, for example, to higher raw material prices. from the viewpoint of meeting such a wide range of financing needs, the bank decided that fund - provisioning under the funds - supplying operations against pooled collateral, which previously had been limited to a bi - weekly basis and up to a maximum of 2 trillion yen, will be conducted without an upper limit. these operations are the most versatile among the bank's various market operations, as it accepts various types of collateral for them. japan's financial conditions have been accommodative on the whole ( chart 13 ). although the impact of covid - 19 has remained in some segments of small and medium - sized firms in particular, financial positions, including of these firms, have been on an improving trend. demand for the special operations to facilitate financing has declined. the bank will firmly maintain accommodative financial conditions for businesses by shifting its focus to meet a wide range of financing needs while gradually scaling back the role of acute crisis measures, such as the special operations to facilitate financing, depending on the circumstances. conclusion today, i have talked about developments in japan's economic activity and prices and about the bank's conduct of monetary policy. as we successively face various risks, such as the pandemic and heightened geopolitical risks, japan's economic society as a whole needs to flexibly respond to them and take this opportunity to grow. specifically, in a society where the population is declining, the urgent issue is " investment in people " - - which includes increasing wages, supporting upskilling, and promoting diverse working styles - - as well as improvement in productivity through, for example, digital transformation. although i do not have time to go into detail today, it is also necessary to address climate change, which is a social issue that should be considered from a longer - term perspective. needless to say, the driver of medium - to long - term economic growth is the private sector's various efforts toward improving growth potential. the bank will continue to firmly support your efforts from the financial side by maintaining a favorable macroeconomic environment. thank you very much for your attention. japan's economy and monetary policy speech at a meeting with business leaders in osaka september 26, 2022 kuroda haruhiko governor of the bank of japan introduction i. economic developments ii. price developments iii. the bank's conduct

households y / y % chg. 3. 0 over the next 1 year over the next 5 years market participants ( quick ) firms ( tankan ) ( opinion survey on the general public's views and behavior ) y / y % chg. 2. 5 3. 0 1 year ahead 2. 5 5 years ahead 2. 0 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 1. 5 0. 5 1. 0 0. 0 - 0. 5 0. 5 - 1 - 2 cy 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 y / y % chg. - 1. 0 0. 0 - 0. 5 cy 14 - 1. 5 over the next 1 year 2 to 10 years ahead - 2. 0 cy 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 notes : 1. in the left - hand chart, figures are the medians of the answers to quantitative questions. 2. in the middle chart, figures show the inflation outlook of enterprises for general prices ( all industries and enterprises, average ). sources : bank of japan ; quick, " quick monthly market survey < bonds >. " chart 11 ii. price developments forecasts of japan's cpi by the imf and economists in the private sector y / y % chg. imf + 1. 9 + 1. 3 a€ • + 2. 4 + 1. 2 + 0. 9 ( all items, calendar year ) esp forecast ( all items less fresh food, fiscal year ) note : figures for the imf and the esp forecast are forecasts as of july and september, respectively. sources : imf ; japan center for economic research, " esp forecast. " chart 12 iii. the bank's conduct of monetary policy employment and income situation diffusion indexes for employment conditions nominal wages y / y % chg. - 50 inverted, di ( " excessive employment " - " insufficient employment " ), % points special cash earnings ( bonuses, etc. ) manufacturing non - scheduled cash earnings - 40 scheduled cash earnings forecast nonmanufacturing total cash earnings - 30 - 20 " insufficient " - 10 " excessive " - 1 - 2 - 3 18 / q1 19 / q1 20 / q1 21 / q1 22 / q1 cy 18 note : in the left - hand chart, q1 = march - may, q2 = june - august, q3 = september - november, q4 = december - february. figures are based on continuing