Japan’s finance minister urged the Bank of Japan on Friday to align policy with the deeply indebted government’s efforts to fight deflation, maintaining pressure for possible monetary easing or even government bond purchases.
BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa did not rule out any policy options but reiterated the current level of bond buying — a step some policymakers have called for to tame bond yield gains — was appropriate for now.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama echoed his finance chief, Naoto Kan, in calling for BOJ cooperation, telling parliament that the government will work with the central bank to overcome falls in prices. Data showed Japan’s narrowest measure of consumer inflation fell at a record pace in December.
