Oct 13 (NHK) - A report by the BOJ highlights that prices in Japan are under downward pressure amid the pandemic.
The central bank estimates that Japan's output gap stood at minus 4.83 percent in the April-June quarter. A negative reading means that demand is falling short of supply.
It is the first time the figure has turned negative since the three months ended September 2016. The margin was the largest since the global financial crisis 11 years ago.
The April-June period was when a state of emergency was in place nationwide due to the coronavirus. That caused employment to shrink and factory activity to plunge.
Nomura Research Institute Executive Economist Kiuchi Takahide says a negative gap means prices are on a "downward trend", raising concern that Japan could face deflation again. He said efforts must be made to improve the nation's growth potential.
