As any sorcerer's apprentice will tell you, it is always easier to start something than to finish it. Exit strategies are by far the most difficult part of any game plan. The most recent and graphic case in point is, of course, the Americans in Iraq. But the same is equally applicable to monetary policy, as Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui will know all too well.
Mr. Fukui was once quoted as not being in possession of a magic wand that could sweep all monetary troubles away in one go. This indicates a sensible awareness of the problem faced by the sorcerer's apprentice.
How far that awareness will take him in devising a successful exit plan out of the "zero-interest-rate" policy, or quantitative easing policy as it is now called, will determine whether he is eligible to graduate from the BOJ school of magic.