Bank of Japan (BoJ)
People: April to June 2024
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Are low-level inflation targets still fit for purpose?
Geostrategic shifts make the case for a narrow price target less compelling
BoJ pays record profits to government
Central bank contributes $13.8 billion with gains from ETFs and bonds
Getting Chiang Mai right
Asia’s emergency infrastructure is on the right track, but there is still room for improvement
BoJ considers allowing external access to CBDC data
Digital yen API sandbox launched in April
Sharp yen rises spark speculation over government intervention
Japanese minister refuses to comment on whether authorities acted to stem currency’s fall
BoJ keeps policy unchanged as yen weakens
Policymakers raise inflation forecasts, saying “virtuous wage-price cycle” is strengthening
Asian policy-makers move to support currencies
Indonesia and Vietnam intervene in markets, while Japan, Korea and Malaysia issue warnings
Banknotes: January to March 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
BIS project aims to redesign global payments infrastructure
“Most ambitious” innovation hub project to date will test BIS’s “unified ledger” concept
BoJ ends negative interest rate policy
Japanese central bank also scraps yield curve control policy and ends ETF purchases
BoJ may scrap ultra-loose policy at March meeting, reports say
Policy-makers could be mulling speedy end to yield target and negative rates
Pandemic inflation fuelled by food and energy prices – BoJ study
Inflation in Japan and US driven by similar product market shocks, research finds
BoJ policy-makers signal end to negative rates
Summary of meeting shows board members see higher chances of achieving virtuous wage-price spiral
Japan’s central bank leaves negative rates policy unchanged
BoJ governor sees progress in reaching inflation target but won’t say when ultra-loose lending will end
Bank of Japan maintains ultra-loose policy
Ueda says the chance of Japan achieving sustainable above-target inflation is increasing
BoJ’s CBDC designed to hold ‘minimum’ amount of user data
Offline solutions deemed to pose too great a risk of double spending and counterfeiting
BoJ’s Himino highlights benefits of ending negative rates
Deputy governor says there has been ‘solid progress’ in firms’ price and wage-setting behaviour
Japanese inflation increases to 3.3% in October
Food, energy and services inflation boost price increases
BoJ’s Ueda sees hope of achieving inflation target
Japanese firms are more willing to raise wages and prices but uncertainties remain, governor says
BoJ scraps rigid bond yield cap
Central bank further loosens YCC, ends daily bond buys and raises inflation forecasts
The predicament of bloated central bank balance sheets
Swollen balance sheets carry significant risks for combating inflation, ensuring financial stability and preserving central bank credibility, independence and effectiveness. How can central banks reduce them?
Bank of Japan steps up bond purchases
Central bank faces pressure to raise rates as yields on 10-year government bonds rise
A league table for central bank hawkishness
Steve Kamin runs the numbers to assess which central banks have raised rates most aggressively