TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan board members agreed at a policy meeting in September to continue monetary easing patiently so as to achieve a sustainable inflation target in tandem with wage growth, minutes of its September meeting showed on Monday.
Several members said abolishing a negative rate and yield control policy would have to be discussed together with any successful achievement of the BOJ’s 2% inflation target.
At the Sept. 21-22 meeting, the BOJ stuck to its easy money settings and its pledge to support the economy until inflation sustainably hits its 2% target, suggesting it was in no rush to phase out its massive stimulus programme.
Last Tuesday, the central bank further loosened its grip on long-term interest rates by tweaking its bond yield control again on Tuesday, taking another small step towards dismantling its controversial monetary stimulus of the past decade.
(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Tom Hogue)