BOJ Chief Nominee To Maintain Monetary Easing

Nominee for Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda said he views the current monetary easing policy as "appropriate" and will maintain it to support the economy and achieve the central bank's 2 percent inflation target.

Photo Insert: Financial markets are looking for clues as to the timing of a policy change if he takes the helm.

Ueda, an academic and former member of the central bank's Policy Board, told a confirmation hearing in parliament that he does not see the need to revise a decade-old joint statement with the government that includes a pledge to achieve 2 percent as soon as possible.

But he said the BOJ would examine the pros and cons of monetary easing as required.

The BOJ is facing growing pressure from financial markets to tweak its accommodative monetary policy as several side effects have become evident, including distortions in the bond market following the bank's massive bond-buying program.

Financial markets are looking for clues as to the timing of a policy change if he takes the helm.

"I believe it's necessary (for the BOJ) to continue monetary easing to firmly support the economy and create an economic environment that enables companies to raise wages," Ueda, 71, told the steering committee of the House of Representatives.

If the inflation outlook improves further, the BOJ will have to review its yield curve control (YCC) program, Ueda said, adding that shifting its target from 10-year government bond yields to shorter-maturity bonds would be "one of the options."

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