- Haruhiko Kuroda, BoJ Governor
The Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda delivered a speech at the graduation ceremony for the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo Friday morning. In his speech, he stressed the importance of response to policy challenges, adding that one needs to assess the situation realistically and accurately, and the need for pragmatism. Kuroda also spoke on the issue of QQE, which he introduced last year in order to lift Japan out of its 15-year deflation. He expressed that the previous attempts of BoJ had not been sufficiently strong due to the bank's weak commitment.
In addition, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released the revised report for indices of industrial production for the month of July. The seasonally adjusted index revealed that production gained slightly and added 0.4% month-on-month, in comparison to the increase of 0.2% the month before. The rise overstepped the predicted 0.2%, signalling the economy's growth. However, compared year-on-year, the index for production lost 0.7%. Shipments added 0.7% this month, yet lost 0.1% compared to last year. Inventories gained 0.9% this month, and managed to add 2.9% year-on-year.
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