FILE PHOTO: Newly-appointed Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Yukitoshi Funo arrives at his inauguration news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
June 21, 2018
SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) – Bank of Japan board member Yukitoshi Funo said on Thursday that the central bank needs to patiently continue its strong monetary easing under the current policy framework, underscoring the BOJ’s resolve to hit its 2 percent inflation target.
“Prices remain weak. Risks that prices, centering on medium- to long-term inflation expectations, deviate downwards are large. It warrants attention,” Funo said in a speech to business leaders in Sendai, northeastern Japan.
Funo, a former Toyota Motor executive, has consistently voted with the majority of the BOJ’s nine-member board, including its decision in 2016 to shift its policy focus to targeting interest rates from increasing the money supply.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
