Commentary / Japan Aug 9, 2017
Japan buries cherished economic ideas
by Noah Smith
Japan's experience underscores a disturbing truth: Economists really have no idea how inflation works.
Business Aug 2, 2017
BOJ Policy Board member says firms should take advantage of monetary easing
A Bank of Japan policymaker on Wednesday encouraged businesses to take advantage of the central bank's ultra-easy monetary policy to find new areas for growth as the country's shrinking population heralds a fall in domestic demand. In a speech to business leaders in Sapporo, Yukitoshi ...
Commentary / Japan Jul 25, 2017
Why not give the BOJ's governor a promotion?
Abe's choice is clear: Show Kuroda the door, or open his Cabinet to new thinking by a man who's seen considerable action in the economic trenches.
Business | FOCUS Jul 21, 2017
Another BOJ term for Kuroda in doubt as experts now see 2% inflation target as unattainable
The Bank of Japan's latest delay in reaching its 2 percent inflation target despite more than four years of aggressive monetary easing has cast a shadow over Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's chances at a new term. On Thursday the BOJ pushed back the timing of achieving ...
Business / Economy Jul 20, 2017
BOJ delays window for achieving 2% inflation target a sixth time; two Kuroda critics exit
Kuroda acknowledges stickiness of Japan’s “deflationary mindset,” as the central bank pushes back timing for inflation goal by one year.
Business Jul 1, 2017
BOJ issues rare apology over board member's remark about Hitler's economic policies
The Bank of Japan has issued a rare apology over a board member's praise for Adolf Hitler's economic policies. Yutaka Harada, a member of the central bank's Policy Board, told a seminar on Thursday that Hitler's economic policies had been "appropriate" and "wonderful" but had ...
Business / Economy Jun 28, 2017
BOJ keeps snapping up debt, but pace of bond purchases slowing
The Bank of Japan continued its spending spree on government debt, although the pace of increase has slowed dramatically since the introduction of yield-curve control in September 2016. The central bank owned 39.5 percent of Japan's bonds and Treasury bills, up from 13.1 percent when ...
Business / Financial Markets Jun 15, 2017
BOJ likely to maintain stimulus as two-day policy meeting kicks off
At a two-day policy meeting that kicked off Thursday, the Bank of Japan is expected to maintain its aggressive monetary stimulus in light of the economy's moderate improvement. Despite the stimulus, core consumer prices in April rose just 0.3 percent from a year earlier, far ...
Business Jun 2, 2017
BOJ's total assets climbs to top ¥500 trillion for first time
The Bank of Japan said Friday its total assets surpassed ¥500 trillion ($4.5 trillion) for the first time, nearing Japan's gross domestic product due to massive purchases of assets under its aggressive monetary easing policy. The BOJ's balance sheet has ballooned under the asset purchase ...
Business / Economy Jun 2, 2017
BOJ is more minnow than whale in Japan stocks, SocGen finds
by Min Jeong Lee
The Bank of Japan has had a lot less impact on the Japanese stock market than some have assumed in recent years, and the effectiveness of its purchases in reflating the economy may be limited, according to analysis by Societe Generale. While the BOJ held ...
Business May 29, 2017
Cash levels pile up as investors continue to wait-and-see
by Chikako Mogi and Kazumi Miura
Investors' wait-and-see approach this year is leading to a growing problem. Cash. Having sold a record amount of overseas bonds in April, as well as domestic debt, Japanese investors have mostly held off reinvesting the proceeds. Excess reserves at the Bank of Japan from the ...
Business May 27, 2017
Robust JGB income helps BOJ log first jump in surplus in two years
The Bank of Japan has posted the first rise in its surplus in two years, thanks to a rise in interest income from its massive purchases of Japanese government bonds under its unorthodox monetary easing policy, sources said. Surplus, the corporate equivalent of net profit, ...