TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Friday that he sees no need to adjust its monetary policy further and that he is seen as the next The best contender for central bankers is output control policy.
Speaking in parliament, Amamiya said he noted the merits of yield curve control (YCC), such as the Bank of Japan’s defense of its set a 0.5% cap and massive bond purchases distort the yield curve – 1-year bond yield.
“YCC is a remarkable policy, so we have to carefully balance the benefits and costs,” Amamiya said.
“At this point, I don’t see the need for further steps to increase the flexibility of the YCC,” he added.
When asked by an opposition lawmaker whether to tweak the YCC’s options for the future, Amamiya said: “Overall In general, our basic approach is to guide monetary policy flexibly by weighing the benefits and costs of each step.”
The market is flooded Speculation over the BOJ will phase out the YCC and raise interest rates under a successor to current Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second five-year term ends in April. Amamiya is considered by the market as one of the main contenders to succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, although the government spokesman denies it Nikkei Shimbun
reported on Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government had tested him for the job.
Government to submit nominations for new BOJ Governor and two Deputy Governors to Diet in February , one ruling party lawmakers told reporters on Friday.
Analysts believe Amamiya is better on monetary policy than other contenders such as former vice-governors Hiroshi Nakaso and Hirohide Yamaguchi. At a parliamentary session, Amamiya defended the central bank’s ultra-loose policy, saying it had succeeded in reinflationary growth, saying “It is too early to debate any concrete idea of an exit policy”. He stressed the need to maintain current stimulus measures to ensure inflation hits the BOJ’s 2 percent target in a sustainable manner. BoJ’s leadership transition coincides with Haruhiko Kuroda’s aggressive stimulus measures and rising inflation (4% in December ) and rising global interest rates are testing the plan.
In a policy proposal last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF ) urged the Bank of Japan to make government bond yields more flexible.
Under YCC, BoJ guides short-term rates at -0.1% and
The annual rate of return is approximately 0%. It allows annualized yields move 0.5 basis points up or down around the 0% target and buy risky assets like ETFs as part of its stimulus plan. 178