TOKYO: Haruhiko Kuroda has vowed to keep easing monetary policy until inflation reaches 2 per cent, in a defiant speech dismissing the Bank of Japan’s critics. Mr Kuroda, governor of the BoJ since 2013, claimed the central bank’s policies “have contributed significantly to the positive turnround in Japan’s economy” and said there was no chance of reducing the level of monetary accommodation.
His remarks pave the way for further easing in September, including the possibility of cutting interest rates from the current minus 0.1 per cent. They will eliminate market speculation that the BoJ could back away from aggressive policy. “It is often argued that there is a limit to monetary easing but I do not share such a view,” Mr Kuroda told an audience in Tokyo. He said there was ample room for the BoJ to buy more government bonds, to cut interest rates further, or to buy other assets such as corporate bonds, equity and real estate funds.
Moreover, “other new ideas should not be off the table”, he added. Analysts have suggested various new avenues for easing, such as a cap on the yield curve; BoJ purchases of foreign bonds; or buying other domestic assets such as local government debt. The yen was slightly stronger at ¥103.6 to the dollar, the Topix share index was up 1 per cent at 1,354 and the ten-year bond yield came close to escaping negative territory after the speech.
