The Bank of Japan on Thursday pushed back the timing for achieving its 2 percent inflation target by another year, to around fiscal 2019, underscoring its struggle to spur price gains despite its prolonged radical monetary easing program.
Following a two-day policy meeting, the central bank left its monetary policy unchanged, including asset purchases and a negative interest rate on some funds that financial institutions keep parked at the central bank.
In a quarterly report released after the meeting, the BOJ said it expects inflation to reach 1.1 percent in fiscal 2017 through next March, down from the April forecast of 1.4 percent. It also predicts prices will rise 1.5 percent in fiscal 2018, down from the earlier 1.7 percent.