BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in a speech, “waiting until specific guidelines and ideas are fixed will only delay our response to the urgent global issue of climate change”. Instead, “it will be important to adopt a learning-by-doing approach: implement the crucial measures first, then make adjustments when necessary.”

“The Bank will follow appropriately the evolving nature of climate-related issues, exchange dialogue with domestic and foreign stakeholders, including through active participation in international discussions,” he said, “and will constantly review its measures and make adjustments where needed.

Full speech here.

BoJ decided today to purchase JGBs to and T-bills “without setting an upper-limit” to keep 10-year JGB yields at around zero percent. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in the post meeting conference, “by removing the bond-buying guidance, we clarified our intention to buy government bonds aggressively without setting a limit.”

“We will buy as many government bonds as necessary under YCC (yield curve control),” he said. “We’re buying government bonds as part of our monetary policy steps. But our measures and fiscal stimulus will also have a mutually reinforcing impact.” But he emphasized “we aren’t monetizing government debt.”

On future policy changes, he emphasized “we won’t hesitate to take additional monetary easing steps if needed. As for future policy options, we can expand the size of our asset buying or market operations, as well as cut interest rates. We will choose the most appropriate option at the time. We won’t rule out interest rate cuts as a policy option.”

On inflation, he said “I don’t think there’s a risk Japan will revert to deflation. But short-term inflation expectations are falling quite a bit, and those for the long term are also falling somewhat. This needs to be watched carefully.”

In the summary of opinions of BoJ’s June 15-16 meeting, it’s noted that the economy is “likely to remain in a severe situation for the time being” due to coronavirus pandemic. But the economy “recently appears to have bottomed out. But the “pace of economic recovery will likely be slow”. regarding prices, it’s “unlikely at present that the inflation rate will approach 2 percent with momentum in the foreseeable future”.

It’s also noted that the current three monetary easing measures, the financing program, provision of yen and foreign currency funds, and asset purchases, are “flexible” and “highly adaptable” to various developments. The measures adopted since March “have been exerting their intended effects”. It’s “desirable to carefully confirm and examine their effects for the time being”.

Full summary of opinions here.