Idea of BOJ foreign-debt buying, "Viable if not taken as FX intervention"

Even though Prime Minister Abe damped speculation about the possibility of the Bank of Japan purchasing foreign bonds, rumours continue.

• BOJ direct buying of foreign bonds would be a counter to yen strength
• And, says Abe advisor Nobuyuki Nakahara, it would be fine as long as it is used as monetary policy and isn't taken as currency intervention
• Lawrence Summers was in Tokyo last week, and he said "it's something that should be on the table," but maybe not right now

Bloomberg have more, well worth a read.

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Such a policy would indeed weaken the yen. Even talking about the policy has had an impact on yen FX rates (eg. such talk was cited for the rapid rise in USD/JPY last Friday).

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As I write ... USD/JPY higher again: