Takehiro Sato, a member of the Bank of Japan's policy board, today set out the reasons for his dissent against the central bank's decision on October 31 to expand its programme of quantitative easing (QE).

Speaking to a gathering of business leaders in Kochi Prefecture, Sato said he believed a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices and economic activity was "basically being maintained". He noted the recent drop in oil prices was likely to push down inflation, but urged policy-makers to look through