model, ” bank of japan working paper series no. 15 - e - 3, may 2015. for details, see naohito abe, “ saikin no kakaku shisuu no doukou to shin shohin no eikyo ni tsuite ( recent developments in price indexes and effects of new goods ), ” newsletter no. 3, the research center for economic and social risks ( rcesr ), institute of economic research, hitotsubashi university, march 2015 ( available in japanese ), and naohito abe et al., “ effects of new goods and product turnover on price indexes, ” rcesr discussion paper series no. dp15 – 2, march 2015. bis central bankers ’ speeches over a particular period, general consumer price indexes only cover the goods for which price information is available at the beginning and the end of the period ; on the other hand, the sri - hitotsubashi unit value price index quantifies the importance of the introduction of new goods that i have just mentioned. the research concludes that, mainly due to the effects of such introduction on prices, the year - on - year rate of increase in the sri - hitotsubashi unit value price index for supermarkets has recently been at about 1 to 1. 5 percent, which shows a higher rate of inflation than in cpi statistics released by the ministry of internal affairs and communications ( mic ) and in a price index that only covers continuing goods ( chart 15 ). these research results do not allow simple comparison with the cpi statistics released by the mic, in part because the coverage of the sri - hitotsubashi unit value price index is limited to goods with point - of - sale ( pos ) data. however, i take the view that they provide useful insights to firms ’ price - setting behavior through the introduction of new goods and its effects on developments in prices, and to a divergence between the inflation rate perceived by households and that measured by price statistics. ii. future conduct of monetary policy a. the price stability target and conduct of monetary policy in what follows, i explain issues regarding monetary policy. about two years ago, the bank introduced qqe to achieve the price stability target of 2 percent in terms of the year - on - year rate of change in the cpi at the earliest possible time, with a time horizon of about two years. the latest figure for the year - on - year rate of increase in the

to ensure a firm anchoring of medium - term inflation expectations. such anchoring is indispensable to supporting sustainable growth and employment and contributes to financial stability. accordingly, we will continue to monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead. regarding fiscal policies, the latest projections by the european commission point to a sharp increase in the euro area general government deficit and debt ratios in 2009. the deficit ratio is projected to rise to 5. 3 % of gdp in 2009 and further to 6. 5 % in 2010, from 1. 9 % in 2008, with the debt ratio exceeding 80 % of gdp in 2010. a large majority of euro area countries are expected to exceed the 3 % of gdp deficit reference value in 2009 and 2010. to ensure trust in the sustainability of public finances, an ambitious and credible adjustment effort will be required to return as soon as possible to sound fiscal positions, supported by a full application of the provisions of the stability and growth pact. the rapid attainment of sound fiscal positions will be necessary to enable countries to deal with the additional fiscal burden owing to demographic ageing as well as the risks arising from government guarantees that were provided to stabilise financial sectors. turning to structural policies, there is a strong case for undertaking further efforts to support potential growth in the euro area. it is crucial that the focus is now on strengthening the adjustment capacity and flexibility of the euro area economy in line with the principle of an open market economy. in this respect, the current situation can be seen as a catalyst to accelerate the implementation of necessary domestic reforms, notably labour market reforms to facilitate appropriate wage - setting and labour mobility across sectors and regions, as well as product market reforms to foster competition and speed up restructuring and productivity growth. at the same time, many of the policy measures taken in recent months with a view to supporting specific segments of the economy need to be phased out in a timely manner. we are now at your disposal for questions.