Japan
Bank of Japan intervenes in money markets
The Bank of Japan has intervened in the money markets in the last two days, according to Reuters, in an apparent move to halt the increase in interest rates by spending Y2,000bn buying nine month bills from commercial banks.
Speech by BOJ dep gov Toshiro Muto
Toshiro Muto, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, asks "What Have We Learned from "Unconventional" Market Operations?" and assures that the BOJ will "continue to exert every effort to enhance the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, while…
Fukui: report on currency and monetary control
Statement by Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, concerning the Bank's Semiannual Report on Currency and Monetary Control before the Committee on Financial Affairs, House of Councillors, on July 24, 2003
Bank of Japan at the cutting edge
Toshihiko Fukui, Japan's central bank governor, keeps up with the times. He openly admits to entertaining his runaway addiction to the latest in mobile phone technology and is shortly to experience the unbridled pleasure of getting the NTT DoCoMo 505i…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 25 June 2003, released 13 August. Members exchanged views on a numerical target for price stability. One member stressed that the Bank should make a stronger commitment to overcome deflation, and…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 14 and 15 July 2003, released 13 August. A different member said that the main feature of the Bank's policy commitment was that the policy duration changed flexibly, and thus the expected duration…
Bank of Japan sees 'virtually flat' economy
The Bank of Japan's August monthly report published on Monday 11 August said "economic activity remains virtually flat", according to Reuters, and on job conditions it said the situation remained tough although the number of people in work had stopped…
Who will be the banker bet?
This article in the Financial Times looks at the current crop of top central bankers and asks who will secure their place in history as a trustworthy custodian of the economy? Timing is everything, and while Alan Greenspan would have been a "no contest"…
Bank of Japan keeps monetary policy steady
After buoyant economic data suggested that the Japanese economy's problems may be easing, the Bank of Japan decided to keep monetary policy unchanged at its Friday meeting, according to Associated Press.
BOJ to punish staff for faulty data-gathering
The Bank of Japan is to discipline officials who failed to correct errors in the calculation of data relating to unsecured debt instruments issued by companies to procure funds, according to East Day. The measures are designed to prevent public…
Japan's Takenaka to meet Greenspan
Japanese Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka was due to begin a five day visit to the Unites States on Tuesday, AFX Asia said. His schedule includes a meeting with Fed chairman Alan Greenspan.
Chicago Fed Economic Perspectives 3rd Quarter 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has published its regular quarterly journal, Economic Perspectives, for the Third Quarter 2003. The latest edition includes articles titled 'Banking relationships during financial distress:The evidence from Japan' and …
Extracting rate expectations, Japan's bond prices
Working Paper from the Bank of Japan's Financial Markets Department entitled "Extracting Market Expectations on the Duration of the Zero Interest Rate Policy from Japan's Bond Prices". The paper aims to extract the expectations of market participants on…
Bank of Japan plans to open office in China
The Bank of Japan plans to open an office in China, according to Bloomberg. In a statement the BoJ said "China is playing a growing role in the global economy and its ties with the Japanese economy are also becoming stronger".
Fukui on prospects for future of Japan's economy
In the speech 'Prospects for the Future of Japan's Economy' given on 23 July Toshihiko Fukui of the Bank of Japan said for Japan's economy to resolve the problems it faces and move forward, firms and individuals must become active in seeking new value…
Japan should help guide yuan revaluation policy
This article in the Asahi Shimbun looks at the drive for revaluation of China's yuan, saying it first began in Japan where cheap imports from China are blamed for making domestic deflation worse. Japan needs an effective diplomatic strategy to influence…
BOJ's Muto cites side effects of JGB buying
In the text of a speech published on Friday 25 July, Bank of Japan deputy governor Toshiro Muto said "Buying of 1.2 trillion yen a month represents a significantly high pace", according to a Reuters report. He suggested the policy had had some negative…
BoJ's Fujiwara - Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting
In a speech on 'Inside a Monetary Policy Meeting' Sakuya Fujiwara of the Bank of Japan said transparency of the Bank of Japan's conduct of monetary policy has been enhanced by Monetary Policy Meetings. I attach special importance to increasing the…
Interview with IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler
In an interview on "We Should Not Lose More Time" with Germany's manager magazin, IMF MD Horst Kohler talks about ways out of the world economy crisis. He is also asked if the Americans and the Japanese might be trying to solve their problems by…
Ueda on Japan's deflation and policy response
In a speech on 'Japan's Deflation and Policy Response' Kazuo Ueda of the Bank of Japan said the deflation of general prices has not been the major problem in Japan. Instead, asset price deflation and its interaction with the financial system and the…
BoJ willing to take risks to fight deflation
Giving a lecture in Tokyo on Wednesday 23 July, Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui signalled a willingness to fight Japan's economic slump made worse by deflation. Associated Press reports that Fukui said the BoJ "is willing to take unlimited risks…
Ueda on credit risk transfers and central banks
In a speech on 'On Credit Risk Transfer Instruments and Central Banks' Kazuo Ueda of the Bank of Japan said the Bank has been massively increasing the supply of liquidity. The monetary base has risen by 50% and bank reserves have quadrupled during the…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, July 2003
The Bank of Japan published its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, July 2003, on 17 July. The Report said business fixed investment is on a gradual recovery and while it reiterated that economic activity remains "virtually flat…
Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Meeting on 10 and 11 June 2003, released 18 July. One member said that, with still no prospect of overcoming deflation, the Bank should make a credible public commitment to realise an increase in the money…