Abe defends BOJ’s monetary policy

July 4, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday defended the Bank of Japan's massive monetary easing policy.

The central bank's monetary policy is "not a failure," Abe said at a debate among political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club.

"The monetary policy has created jobs and helped achieve a situation in which Japan is no longer in deflation in an extremely short span of time," said Abe, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Abe said he hopes that the BOJ will continue efforts to achieve 2 pct inflation.

The prime minister declined to discuss the possibility of the BOJ scaling back the easing policy.

"The government should not say anything arbitrarily," he said. "I trust Governor (Haruhiko) Kuroda, so I hope the BOJ makes an appropriate decision."

"Of course, I would like (the BOJ) to closely watch economic developments and be careful with its macroeconomic policy management," Abe said. Jiji Press