Yutaka Harada: Economic activity, prices, and monetary policy in Japan

Speech by Mr Yutaka Harada, Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan, at a meeting with business leaders, Ishikawa, 4 July 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to exchange views with you and for having taken the time to be here despite your busy schedules. It is indeed a great honor to be here today.

Please allow me to express my gratitude for your great cooperation with the business operations of the Bank of Japan, particularly of the Kanazawa Branch.

The Bank introduced quantitative and qualitative monetary easing — or QQE for short — in April 2013 with the aim of achieving the inflation target of 2 percent, and since then, has

strengthened the QQE framework.

As a result of the Bank’s efforts, most economic indicators — such as those of production, employment, investment, exports, and fiscal conditions — have improved.

Today, I would like to provide my views on the achievements thus far of the Bank’s monetary policy measures as well as on some critical opinions regarding QQE, and then

explain recent economic and financial developments as well as the path toward achieving the price stability target of 2 percent.