BoJ board member Hitoshi Suzuki said in a speech that the Japanese economy “remained in a severe situation”. Business fixed investment has been on a “declining trend” on deterioration in corporate profits and over uncertainties. Such down trend is “likely to continue for the time being”. Weakness can also be seen in employment.
On monetary policy, Suzuki said it’s “desirable for the yield curve for super-long-term JGBs to become steeper at a moderate pace with the Bank keeping 10-year JGB yields at around 0 percent, in that financial institutions can improve profits on their investment and the Bank can achieve financial system stability while monetary easing is prolonged.”
