Haruhiko Kuroda took a slightly less dovish tack in his farewell as Japan's central bank chief on Friday, ending a decade of unconventional policy that included a "bazooka" of stimulus aimed at boosting inflation and sustainable growth.
Handing the reins of the Bank of Japan to academic Kazuo Ueda, Kuroda pointed to progress under his radical easy-money policy, which featured a push to change public perceptions with a wall of money and Peter Pan metaphors.
"Japan's 15 years of deflation has created a strong perception among the public that prices and wages won't rise," Kuroda, 78, said at a news conference before he marks the end on Saturday of his second five-year term.