Japan
OECD report worries on Japan deflation pressure
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report on Tuesday 3 February on Japan suggesting that deflation remains a big problem despite the return to growth.
Tanigaki says Japan could increase gold holdings
Japan's Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said in response to a parliamentary question that Japan may consider increasing its gold reserves to bring them more into line with levels elsewhere.
IMF deputy Sugisaki returns to Japan
IMF deputy managing director Shigemitsu Sugisaki, 62, is leaving his post. He was joined at a farewell dinner in Washington by some former colleagues, including Stanley Fischer.
BOJ's Muto says weak dollar behind easing
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan Toshiro Muto said on Friday 30 January that the BOJ needed to pay attention to the effects of a weak dollar and that those effects were in mind when it decided to further ease monetary policy recently.
Japan's deflation improving, not ending: Fukui
Japan's deflationary trend is easing but there no sign exists yet of it ending entirely, Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Friday 30 January.
Fukui : easing policy will boost money supply
Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Tuesday 27 January that BOJ policies will feed through to growth in Japan's money supply and help the country escape from deflation.
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 15 and 16 December 2003, released 23 January. The bank's Policy Board agreed that the currency market needed close monitoring although some members felt the economic impact of the high yen had…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, January 2004
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its January 2004 Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments on 22 January. It raised its assessment of the economy, saying strong exports are boosting output and beginning to filter…
Tanigaki to explain Japan's monetary policy at G7
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said on Friday 23 January that he will give an accurate picture of Japan's fiscal and monetary policies at the upcoming Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting.
Rapid yen moves will be acted on - Tanigaki
Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said at the weekend that Japan will keep acting against rapid and speculative moves in foreign exchange markets.
BOJ makes changes to policy guidelines
At the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting held on Tuesday 20 January, the bank decided to change the main operating target in the guideline for money market operations.
Fukui vows to fight deflation as credit eased
Bank of Japan chief Toshihiko Fukui on Tuesday 21 January renewed his pledge to fight deflation with sustained credit easing while saying the risk of a high yen curtailing the economic recovery has not increased.
Japan raises view on economy
Japan raised its assessment of its economy on Monday 19 January, saying strong exports are boosting output and beginning to filter through to consumption.
BOJ bought Y1.9100 trn shares from banks to 10 Jan
The Bank of Japan said on Wednesday it had bought a total of 1.9100 trillion yen ($17.98 billion) of shares held by Japanese banks by January 10 under its programme aimed at reducing the banks' exposure to stock market volatility.
BoJ may ease rules on asset-backed securities
Proposed rule changes to the Bank of Japan's asset-backed securities purchase will be on the agenda for discussion when the BoJ Policy Board convenes on Jan 19-20.
Bank of Japan semi-annual monetary report
Japan's economic activity remained virtually flat in the first half of fiscal 2003, the Bank of Japan's Semi-annual Report on Currency and Monetary Control showed.
Fukui to attend Basel BIS meeting
Toshihiko Fukui is due to attend a meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, the BOJ said on Friday 9 January.
Source says BOJ spent Y3 trln in intervention
Japan, worried that a strong yen could hurt an export-led recovery in its economy, spent about three trillion yen ($28.3 billion) in the first two days of this week to hold the currency down, market sources said on Wednesday 7 January.
Dollar continues slide against euro
The dollar hit a new record low against the euro on Tuesday in broad selling but held on just above a three-year low on the yen, helped by rumoured Japanese yen-selling intervention.
Japan's PM says economy seeing 'bright signs'
Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Monday at his New Year's news conference that the country was finally emerging from its prolonged slowdown.
Minutes of BoJ monetary policy meeting
The Bank of Japan monetary policy board met on November 20 and 21. The members agreed that the economy was starting to recover gradually and voted unanimously to maintain the current guideline for money market operations with the target range of "around…
BOJ opens branch office in Beijing
The Bank of Japan opened its Beijing office on Thursday18 December It will be headed by Yosuke Tsuyuguchi and is designed to strengthen relations between the BoJ and the People's Bank of China.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, December 2003
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its December 2003 Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments on 18 December. The BoJ said that it expects the Japanese economy to continue its export-led recovery at a slow pace. "Japan…
Nakahara on Japan's economy and monetary policy
In the speech 'Japan's Economy and Monetary Policy' released on 10 December Shin Nakahara of the Bank of Japan said currently, with the recovery trend looking steadily more certain, corporate executives seem to be more optimistic. For the Japanese…