Japan's central bank has stumbled into a rare public relations storm that has dragged debate about its ultralow interest rates out of sterile boardrooms and into tabloid and social media, amid surging household ire over rising living costs.

Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda issued an unprecedented public apology and retraction earlier this month after comments that households were more "accepting" of retail price hikes triggered a flurry of angry tweets.

Once regarded for its masterful communication of complicated monetary policy to the world's largest and shrewdest investors, Kuroda's recent fumble shows the BOJ much less skilled at managing the wider public's price expectations.