TOKYO (MNI) – A few Bank of Japan board members emphasized the need
for the central bank to stand ready to take appropriate action without
ruling out any options if Japanese growth were to slow substantially,
according to the minutes of the June 14-15 policy setting meeting
released Wednesday.
“A few members raised the possibility that Japan’s economy would be
adversely affected through various channels if a substantial risk
materialized, stemming from the European debt problem, for example,” the
minutes stated.
“These members said that the BOJ should therefore stand ready to
take appropriate actions without ruling out any options in advance.”
However, the policymakers at the June meeting didn’t see an
imminent need to ease policy further as Japan’s economy continues were
seen moving in line with the recovery scenario presented by the BOJ in
April.
At the two-day meeting ended on June 15, the BOJ’s policy board
voted unanimously to maintain practically zero short-term interest rates
and left the scale of its financial asset-buying at Y70 trillion after
increasing it from Y65 trillion in April.
The BOJ has left its target for the overnight interest rate among
commercial banks at zero to 0.1% since October 2010, when it was lowered
from 0.1% as part of “comprehensive monetary easing.”
Despite growing concerns about the European financial system, the
BOJ policymakers believed that Japan’s economy will return to a
sustainable recovery path in the first half of the current fiscal year
(April-September).
tokyo@marketnews.com
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