"[..] in order to achieve the price stability target at the earliest possible time, it was necessary for the Bank to enter a new phase of monetary easing both in terms of quantity and quality […]"
-the Bank of Japan
Japan's monetary base jumped to a record in April, according to the Bank of Japan on Thursday, as the central bank's unconventional quantitative easing programme increased the amount of money circulating in the economy. The average monetary base was 149.6 trillion yen (1.54 trillion), soaring 23.1% from a year earlier, posting a record high for two consecutive months. Under the new monetary policy easing, the BoJ estimates that the monetary base will be enlarged to 200 trillion yen at the end of 2013 and then will reach 270 trillion yen at the end of next year.
Minutes from the BoJ's policy meeting on April 3-4 under a new Governor Haruhiko Kuroda showed that the central bank's officials believed that the public perceive the actions as insufficient up to that point. The central bank also reiterated that it would achieve 2% inflation target within two years.
"On this basis, members shared the recognition that, in order to achieve the price stability target at the earliest possible time, it was necessary for the Bank to enter a new phase of monetary easing both in terms of quantity and quality, given that Japan's economy still had not overcome deflation even though the Bank had thus far been implementing monetary easing of a considerable scale under the comprehensive monetary easing policy," the BoJ said.
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