• From late yesterday: INSIGHT: BOJ accepts inflation target to fend off legal revisions The BOJ didn’t set a 2% inflation target as a spur to take action, but rather “fear that defiance could cost the institution its independence… Shirakawa, governor of the central bank, was “determined to fend off revisions to the BOJ Law at any cost,” according to a former BOJ official.”

• From the WSJ: Abe Adviser: BOJ Steps Not Enough (gated) Hamada, again, saying the moves were an ‘advancement’, an 8 out of 10. He is of the opinion that “the BOJ was postponing taking necessary action until Mr. Shirakawa’s tenure ends in April”.

• On the Cabinet report upgrading views of the Japanese economy: Japan Govt. Upgrades Economic Assessment. Also here, at the (gated) WSJ: Japan Upgrades Economic Assessment “The government on Wednesday raised its assessment of the economy in January, the first upgrade in eight months, citing improvements in export conditions and the positive impact from the weak yen.”