"Now I am in this position, I will scrutinize even more strictly"
- Seiji Maehara, Japanese Economy Minister
The Bank of Japan will now be under extra scrutiny by the new Economy Minister Seiji Maehara, in order to meet a 1 per cent inflation goal. The BOJ now projects core consumer price inflation of 0.2 per cent for the current business year ending in March 2013, and 0.7 per cent in the next year. Japan is now expected to reach 1 per cent inflation around 2014. On October 30, the Bank of Japan is likely to cut its growth forecast due to the weakening economy.
"Now I am in this position, I will scrutinize even more strictly," said Seiji Maehara, Japan's newly appointed national strategy and economy minister.
"If we do not correct the extreme yen appreciation, then Japan's manufacturing will not hold up," Maehara said today. "I think the current yen level is too high."
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.45 per cent, or 39.18 points, to 8,746.87. The broader Topix Index lost 0.52 per cent, or 3.80, to 727.39.
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