BOJ's Kuroda vows to keep ultra-easy monetary policy

THE Bank of Japan (BOJ) will keep interest rates ultra-low as inflation won't pick up much, governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday (May 20), underscoring the view that Japan will remain an outlier among G7 nations eyeing monetary policy tightening.

Kuroda said he explained to his G7 counterparts that the BOJ will patiently stick to its powerful monetary easing to ensure the economy makes a sustained recovery from the pandemic.

"The chance of inflation accelerating more than we projected last month is slim," Kuroda told a news conference after attending the G7 finance leaders' gathering in Germany.

While it was natural for other G7 central banks to tighten monetary policy given surging inflation, there was "absolutely no change" to the BOJ's stance of maintaining an ultra-loose monetary policy, Kuroda said.

Kuroda's remark came despite a G7 finance leaders' communique warning that central banks must calibrate the pace of monetary tightening with inflation reaching "levels not seen for decades." REUTERS