Prominent economist defends BOJ's moves

Tokyo

A LEADING international economist on Wednesday sprang to the defence of the aggressively expansionary monetary policy pursued by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), as the bank's governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the BOJ would keep up its massive stimulus programme until its two per cent annual inflation target is reached.

Amid the criticism the BOJ has received for failing to meet its proclaimed target in two years from early 2013, rating agency Standard & Poor's chief global economist Paul Sheard has said in Tokyo that "no central bank can achieve its inflation target in a pinpointed way".