The Bank of Japan left its monetary stimulus unchanged on Thursday, signaling Japan's second recession since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office isn't enough to alter Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's view that the inflationary trend is improving.
The BOJ's decision to keep already unprecedented stimulus unchanged was forecast by all 41 economists in a Bloomberg survey and comes days after a report showing Japan fell back into a recession in the six months through September. Prices fell in August and September.
Kuroda has said that the inflation trend is improving while noting that he remains ready to adjust policy if needed. Economists are divided into two camps — one expecting further easing early next year and another projecting no further action for the foreseeable future.