Bank of Japan's September Tankan showed firms' 1-year CPI inflation expectations
eased to 2.6 pct from 2.7 pct three months earlier. Firms expect average annual
CPI gains of 2.6 pct over the next 3 years and 2.5 pct over the next 5 years.
The BOJ has included firms' price expectations in the Tankan since March 2014;
these expectations inform its policy easing.