Japan's slower growth, surging yen lock BOJ in stimulus programme

Tokyo

JAPAN'S slowest growth in two years and a surging yen underscore the fact that the central bank remains locked in a stimulus programme that is getting harder to sustain.

The economy expanded for an eighth quarter in the October-December period, the longest stretch since 1989. But the pace of growth fell sharply from the relatively heady figures seen in recent quarters, back to a level more in line with the economy's potential.