Bank of Japan monetary policy board member Wakatabe
He is generally a company man, not a serial dissenter at meetings.
- Easy money will be maintained for as long as needed to achieve 2% inflation target sustainably
- Monetary policy cannot be normalised unless economy, prices return to normal state
- QQE had a strong stimulus effect on the economy and prices
- If QQE was not put in place Japan's economy would not have achieved the state where it was no longer in deflation
- Japan's economy likely to expand moderately as a trend as overseas growth likely t pick up somewhat
- we need to be increasingly vigilant to downside risks to economy
- if US - China trade tensions are prolonged, that could exert increasing downward pressure on global economy
- if slowdown in overseas growth persists, that would weigh on Japan's domestic demand
BOJ Deputy Governor Wakatabe here leaving us in no doubt the BOJ is to keep on keeping on with its easy policy
