Comments by BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda in Osaka
- BOJ has been conducting powerful easing
- Don't have set time frame in mind on how long to keep easing policy
- Pledge to keep interest rates very low for extended period is very important
- Says to clarify, Japan's situation is different from that of US and Europe
- But pledge to keep rates low does not mean BOJ will do so permanently
- In designing forward guidance, need to ensure effectiveness of commitment
- But also need to consider flexibility of future policy conduct
- Hopes new forward guidance provides a clear stance
- Stocks and FX rates have been stable since BOJ's July policy decision
- Bond market transaction has become more active
- Price movements has increased somewhat since July decision
- Need to consider both positive effects and side effects of policy in balanced manner
Quite a lengthy one from Kuroda but as per the norm, it's not anything new that we don't already know from the BOJ and their views on monetary policy. It's all about the inflation target and Kuroda is starting to realise that they're not going to find it easy to meet that target (their focus at the start of the year was to try to meet that by fiscal year 2019) despite a tighter labour market.
