Bernanke urges BOJ to continue with aggressive easing policy

Tokyo

IN A message that was music to the ears of financial markets as well as those of Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday endorsed the continuation of the BOJ's aggressive monetary easing.

"Despite improvement in the Japanese economy, I think there is still a strong case for the Bank of Japan to continue to pursue its target (of 2 per cent inflation)," Mr Bernanke said at a BOJ seminar where he endorsed the central bank's plan to "overshoot" its inflation target if necessary