Monetary tightening is not a "suitable" measure at all for the Bank of Japan as the domestic economy is still in the midst of a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic while higher commodity prices are adding downward pressure, Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday.
Even though core consumer inflation jumped 2.1% in April from a year earlier, it does not mean the BOJ's 2% inflation target has been achieved, Kuroda said, stressing that the central bank will not waver in its aggressive monetary easing to support the economy and ensure more robust wage growth.
His remarks, made at an event organized by Kyodo News, reinforced the view that the BOJ will remain an outlier among major central banks that are transitioning to tighter monetary policy.