Haruhiko Kuroda: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) - economic and financial developments and the responses taken by the Bank of Japan

Speech (via webcast) by Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, hosted by the Naigai Josei Chosa Kai (Research Institute of Japan), Tokyo, 14 May 2020.

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

Introduction

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact all over the world. Unfortunately, many lives have been lost and a large number of people are still suffering from the disease. I would like to extend my sincere condolences for the victims of COVID-19 and express my deepest gratitude to the medical professionals who are dedicating themselves to saving lives, and to all who are working to support people's livelihoods.

To prevent the further spread of COVID-19, each country and region has continued to make strenuous efforts. In addition, as the global economy has suffered substantial damage from constrained economic activity, governments and central banks around the world have responded swiftly with large-scale measures to address the shock. In Japan, the government declared a state of emergency and formulated emergency economic measures with a project size of 117 trillion yen. The Bank of Japan, at two consecutive Monetary Policy Meetings (MPMs), decided to enhance monetary easing. Today, I would like to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on economic and financial developments at home and abroad, their outlook, and the Bank's policy responses.