After a tumultuous 2020, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Japan appears eager to deflect criticism that prolonged monetary easing will do more harm than good and years of pumping money into the economy has done little to boost inflation.

The BOJ's 2% inflation goal remains elusive, and there are even fears that the economy will slip back into deflation, a view that Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda dismisses.

A moment of reckoning awaits the BOJ in March, when economists will scrutinize the bank's planned disclosure of assessment findings on how to make its policy more effective and sustainable.