Bank of Japan agrees inflation target and monetary easing
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has agreed to double its inflation target to two per cent and introduce open-ended monetary policy easing in its most determined effort yet to end years of economic stagnation.
The central bank said that from next year it would switch to an open-ended approach of buying assets – 13 trillion yen (£91.3bn) – each month, without a set deadline.
It also promised to reach its inflation target “at the earliest possible time”.
The steps represent the latest unorthodox effort by a leading central bank to support a weak recovery from the global financial crisis, although in Japan’s case the country is also trying to overcome nearly two decades of low-grade deflation.
The BOJ’s break from an earlier policy of topping up a lending and asset buying programme launched in October 2010 follows weeks of relentless pressure from new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a greater push to lift an economy out of recession.