Japan's consumer inflation could briefly approach the central bank's elusive 2% target as geopolitical hazards push up energy prices, a central banker said on Thursday, in a sign of the broadening fallout from the crisis in Ukraine.
But Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa reiterated the bank's resolve to keep monetary policy ultraloose, stressing that wages need to rise in tandem with inflation for such price increases to be sustainable.
"For the time being, inflationary pressure will remain strong, mainly for energy, food and industrial goods," Nakagawa said in a speech, adding that year-on-year growth in core consumer prices may "briefly rise close to 2%."