Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda emphasised on Monday that the rate-setters cannot pre-set the timing of future policy change but would like to make appropriate decisions while scrutinising economic developments.
The boss of the Japanese central bank, however, suggested that the BoJ will likely consider changing its monetary policy if the likelihood of achieving the price stability target of 2% in a sustainable and stable manner rises sufficiently.
Ueda also pointed out that there are some benefits of a slightly positive inflation rate, the most obvious of which is a larger room for monetary policy responses to an economic downturn.
In addition, he expressed hope that Japan’s economy will get out of the low-inflation environment and achieve a virtuous cycle between wages and prices.