## Remarks by IMF’s Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura at a Regional Economic Outlook Event

_IMF News, May 19, 2022_

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: May 19, 2022

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### Context and opening
- Event held in Tokyo, May 20, 2022; webpage dated May 19, 2022.
- First face-to-face event in Tokyo since early 2020.
- Speaker’s first return to Tokyo as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.
- Remarks delivered "As prepared for delivery."

### Main channels by which the war in Ukraine affects Asia and the Pacific
- Two main channels identified:
  - Higher commodity prices.
  - Effects of slower growth in Europe.
- Regional manifestations:
  - Consumers across Asia are experiencing higher food and energy prices.
  - Exporters face weaker demand from European trading partners.
  - Strained supply chains make getting goods to market slower and more expensive.

### Inflation, monetary policy, and global spillovers
- Global inflationary pressures are rising; in the US and Europe, prices are "now rising at the fastest rates in a generation."
- A "decade of unconventional monetary accommodation is now being withdrawn faster than was previously expected."
- Risk noted that drifting inflation expectations could require "an even more forceful tightening."
- Need for careful consideration of implications for global markets and "spillover risks, particularly for the most vulnerable economies."
- Asia-specific inflation observations:
  - In 2021, food prices in emerging and developing Asia grew by less than 2 percent.
  - This is compared with over 9 percent in peer countries in Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
  - "In many of the region’s economies, inflation remains below central bank targets."

### Policy trade-offs and IMF stance
- 2022 characterized as "another challenging year for Asia’s policymakers" due to the combination of pandemic, war, and tighter global financial conditions.
- Key trade-off identified:
  - Support growth through more stimulus? Or withdraw that support to stabilize debt and inflation?
- Emphasis that trade-offs "will be different depending on country circumstances" and require:
  - Calibrated policies.
  - Clear communication.
- IMF commitment:
  - "We at the Fund remain firmly committed to supporting our member countries in the region as they tackle these challenges."

*Source: Remarks by IMF’s Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura at a Regional Economic Outlook Event (Tokyo, May 20, 2022; published May 19, 2022), IMF Communications Department.*

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## References

- [Kenji Okamura](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/kenji-okamura)
- [Ukraine and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/UKR/index.htm)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/05/19/sp-052022tokyo-dmd-okamura-opening-reoevent_