- Takahiro Sekido, a strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
Bank of Japan's two new members Takehiro Sato and Takahide Kiuchi proposed a stronger commitment to monetary easing in order to spur the struggling economy. The expansion of the asset-purchase programme can bring deflation to an end and help to prevent the nation's currency from further strengthening. However, the proposal was defeated by majority vote. Sato and Kiuchi that the BoJ should maintain its ultra-easy policy until a 1% rise in consumer prices will be reached. The BoJ has already increased its main monetary easing tool by 11 trillion yen to 91 trillion yen at the meeting on October 30.
"The BOJ's commitment of pursuing powerful easing until the 1% price goal is in sight has been one element of curbing the yen's rise," Mr. Shirakawa said, adding that the currency's rate is "not determined by monetary policy alone."
"The government is unable to add much fiscal stimulus because of budgetary constraints," said Takahiro Sekido, a strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. who formerly worked at the central bank. "So it will press the BOJ for more easing."
"We still want the yen to weaken more and more," Toshio Mita, chairman of Chubu Electric Power Co.
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