The Bank of Japan's decision to announce its first-ever inflation target is being widely interpreted as the central bank stepping up its commitment to end chronic deflation.
But analysts say the move is also the result of political pressure and will benefit the government, which has struggled to address the yen's historic rise and even been criticized by some countries over its market interventions.
Catching experts by surprise, the BOJ Policy Board on Tuesday unanimously voted to set a short-term target of 1 percent for consumer price inflation, following the practice of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Its members also voted to expand the bank's asset purchase program by ¥10 trillion to ¥65 trillion in total.