Tokyo — Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda pushed through changes to his radical monetary stimulus programme as the central bank prepares for a longer struggle to stoke inflation. While keeping unchanged its two major benchmarks — the negative interest rate and 10-year yield target — the BOJ took a number of steps to alleviate the strain on banks and the market distortions stemming from its policy. Yet Kuroda also indicated that the BOJ will tolerate 10-year yields deviating as much as 0.2% from zero, compared with 0.1% now. The BOJ cut its inflation forecasts, showing it’s preparing for an even lengthier battle to generate 2% price gains, further widening the gap with global peers that are moving away from crisis-era policies. The headline of the BOJ’s statement underscored the goal: "Strengthening the Framework for Continuous Powerful Monetary Easing". "The BOJ is now more engaged and prepared to fight a long-run battle against deflation or disinflation," said Shigeto Na...
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