In a speech on 'The Japanese Economy and Asia' given on 26 September, Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said there is an increasing probability that the Bank's standard scenario released in April, a virtuous cycle of recovery in which an increase in exports leads to an increase in production and profits, will materialize. Yet, considering structural adjustment pressure stemming from excess debt and labor, uncertainty still exists with respect to the strength and breadth of the expected