In the Summary of Opinions of the March 17-18 meeting, BoJ noted, “unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, Japan is not in a situation where the inflation rate will likely exceed the price stability target of 2 percent in a continuous manner.” Hence, “it is important for the Bank to continue with monetary easing to support the economic recovery from the pandemic.”
Situations surrounding Ukraine have “caused price rises of energy and other items”, and this will “push down domestic demand while raising the CPI.” Under these circumstances, it is “necessary to improve labor market conditions and provide stronger support for wage increases”.
One member warned that “if downward pressure on economic activity and prices increases, the economy may instead be in danger of falling into deflation again. If it becomes difficult to achieve the price stability target, the Bank should act nimbly and without hesitation.”
