Politics · Japan · 1 hr ago
Japan minister says government will be cautious on declaring deflation over
Japan’s economic minister Minoru Kiuchi said the government will be cautious about declaring that deflation has ended.
He said officials will assess underlying prices and the factors driving them, rather than rely on a single measure.
A key test is whether the supply-demand gap stays positive, including in the months ahead.
Kiuchi said Japan must not only end sustained price declines but also reach a lasting point where a return to deflation is not expected.
The Bank of Japan says underlying inflation is broadly in line with its 2% target, according to its October 30 policy meeting.
The government also tracks consumer prices, the GDP deflator and unit labor costs.
Officials will continue weighing the evidence before making a declaration, while the central bank is expected to pursue its price-stability target through monetary policy.
Japan’s economic and fiscal policy minister said the government would remain cautious about declaring that deflation has ended.
Minoru Kiuchi said officials must assess price trends and their causes together before making a judgment.
He said the government would watch whether the output gap stays positive, including its future direction.
Kiuchi said ending deflation requires not only an end to sustained price declines but also confidence that deflation will not return.
The Bank of Japan said on October 30 that underlying inflation was at a level broadly consistent with its 2% target.
- Who
- Japan’s economic and fiscal policy minister, Minoru Kiuchi.
- What
- He said the government would continue to judge cautiously whether deflation has ended.
- When
- November 2, 2026.
- Where
- At a post-cabinet meeting news conference in Japan.
- Why
- The government wants to assess underlying price trends and whether the output gap will remain positive before declaring deflation over.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Bank of Japan said underlying inflation was at a level broadly consistent with its 2% target.
Kiuchi said the government’s cautious approach to declaring deflation over had not changed.
- Minister
- Minoru Kiuchi
- News conference
- November 2, 2026
- Inflation target
- 2%
- Government indicators
- Consumer price index, GDP deflator, unit labor costs and output gap
- Bank of Japan statement
- October 30, 2026
1 source
What people are saying
The view that it is necessary to make a cautious judgment has not changed.
We will carefully assess whether [the output gap] will remain positive, including its future direction.
It is necessary to sustainably achieve a state in which we can judge not only that the situation of prices falling continuously has ended, but also that deflation is not expected to return.