BOJ chief gets needed ally in war on deflation

Tokyo

BANK of Japan (BOJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday received what is expected to be strong support for his increasingly-controversial monetary easing programme from the Lower House, which approved committed reflationist Yutaka Harada as a member of the central bank's nine-member Policy Board.

But support within and beyond the board for Mr Kuroda's 2 per cent annual inflation target appears to be waning and sources familiar with his thinking told The Business Times that he is concerned about diluting the target for fear that such a move could damage the country's fight against deflation.