The Bank of Japan has no immediate plans to roll back its massive stimulus but will scrutinize how rising import costs could affect public perceptions on the inflation outlook, Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday.
Kuroda also said the yen was moving in line with economic fundamentals, countering recent growing criticism among politicians the BOJ's ultralow interest rates and a subsequent yen decline were pushing up households' living costs.
"If the yen weakens further, that could push up import costs. But the recent rise in import costs is driven mostly by an increase in dollar-denominated raw material prices, rather than a weak yen," he said.