BOJ’s Suzuki: No comment on how long the current easing framework can last

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) newly appointed board members Hitoshi Suzuki and Goshi Kataoka are out on the wires now, via Reuters, commenting on the bank’s monetary policy program and overall economic outlook.

BOJ’s Suzuki cites:

There is a lot of headwinds adding to low price growth

Expects price growth to get better

Japan's economy is improving

Good medicine can have side effects

Refuse to comment if more easing is needed

No comment on how long the current easing framework can last

BOJ’s Kataoka:

Japan's recovery is partly due to BOJ easing

BOJ policy is not only looking at rates or quantity

Meaningless to measure discussion by just counting votes

Sales tax hike, oil price drops, emerging market slowdown have constrained inflation in Japan

Adoption of specific policy steps depends on economic conditions at the time