Deflation, the opposite of inflation, is a situation of falling general prices. It should not be confused with disinflation, which refers to a declining inflation rate that nevertheless remains positive. It was the successful U.S. disinflation of the 1990s, a disinflation that lowered the inflation rate sufficiently to create concern that further downward pressure might push it into negative territory, that spurred recent fears of deflation. These fears have materialized in Japan, ...