With inflation still distant from its target, the Bank of Japan left its monetary stimulus program on cruise control, saying improving private consumption will support a growing economy.
The policy statement Friday came on the heels of the Federal Reserve's third interest rate increase since December, underscoring how the BOJ continues to fall behind its global peers in normalizing policy. It will continue to manage the yield curve through a negative interest rate and buying trillions of yen worth of bonds, as expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Japan's longest period of economic expansion in a decade has provided some support for the BOJ, which hasn't changed policy since September last year. While the amount of bonds it buys is slowing, there is little expectation that it will substantially change course during the rest of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's current term. There are increasing calls for him to at least map some details of how the BOJ may eventually exit stimulus.