Abe urges central bank to pre-empt credit squeeze

Tokyo

PRIME Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday urged Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda to ensure that the central bank provides ample funds to financial markets to forestall a credit squeeze in the wake of last week's Brexit shock.

The move was seen partly as reflecting Mr Abe's desire to calm markets in the run-up to next month's election in the Upper House, but some analysts have detected an undercurrent of concern about the situation of Japanese banks operating overseas as well.