Total Value of BOJ Assets Tops Japan’s GDP for 1st Time

August 15, 2018

Tokyo- The total value of Bank of Japan-owned assets, mainly Japanese government bonds, has exceeded the country's annual nominal gross domestic product for the first time ever, a BOJ report showed on Tuesday.

BOJ assets totaled some 548.94 trillion yen as of Friday, up about 2.6 trillion yen from the end of July and topping Japan's nominal GDP of 546 trillion yen for 2017.

The BOJ's balance sheet is expected to expand even further as the central bank is continuing with its massive asset purchases to meet its inflation target of 2 pct.

The total BOJ assets swelled 3.3-fold from the end of March 2013, just before the bank embarked on massive monetary easing in April that year.

The BOJ's asset-to-GDP ratio is far above the figures of up to around 40 pct at other major central banks in the world.

At its policy-setting meeting late last month, the BOJ highlighted its unwavering commitment to achieving 2 pct inflation through the easing campaign.

The BOJ's policy stance makes a stark contrast with those of its U.S. and European counterparts, which are moving toward policy normalization after years of powerful monetary easing.

"The BOJ easing is continuing, with no exit in sight," Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities Co., said, warning, "It could be extremely difficult for the bank to reduce its assets in the future." Jiji Press