Japan is seeing early signs of change in the public's long-held perception that wages and inflation won't rise much, central bank policymaker Hajime Takata said, suggesting conditions for phasing out the bank's massive stimulus are falling into place.
Takata stressed the need to maintain ultraloose monetary policy for the time being, as slowing global growth heightens uncertainty on whether Japan can sustainably achieve the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s 2% inflation target.
But he also said there were signs of change in corporate price and wage-setting behavior that is pushing up not just goods but service prices, pointing to broadening inflationary pressure in the world's third-largest economy.