The Bank of Japan could add to its unprecedented monetary easing announced two months ago should economic conditions change significantly, BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Wednesday.
The April 4 package could be expanded or reduced as needed, Kuroda told lawmakers. The BOJ said in its latest statement that it will make policy adjustments "as appropriate."
In April, Kuroda said policymakers had done everything "necessary" and "possible" to counter deflation and spur growth.
While the BOJ has laid out a two-year plan for doubling the monetary base, that doesn't mean no further action will be taken over that period, Kuroda told the Diet. Economists including Naohiko Baba, chief Japan economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have said the BOJ could expand easing in October, when price forecasts will indicate whether progress has been made toward achieving a goal of 2 percent inflation.
"The policy we decided on April 4, we are not saying that we will not change it for two years, and if the economic or financial situation changes significantly, and what we decided on April 4 was insufficient, or was too much, we would adjust up or down," Kuroda said.
A policy statement this month restated the April pledge to increase the monetary base by ¥60 trillion to ¥70 trillion per year.