Bank of Japan touts victories
BANK of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda claimed yesterday that the country’s monetary stimulus is having its desired effect and refused to rule out further action.
During a speech in New York, ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, Kuroda said his policies had lifted economic activity, helped hold off deflation, improved expectations and boosted markets.
However, the governor refused to rule out further action to reach its new inflation target of two per cent in the next two years: “If that becomes difficult to achieve, we may strengthen our (action).”
Kuroda also insisted that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to hike the sales tax, for the first time in 15 years, would not hit Japan’s current growth.