Japan PM Ishiba says no plan to revise joint BOJ statement

TOKYO : Japan’s government has no plans to revise a joint statement with the central bank that focused on pulling the economy out of deflation, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Thursday.

The need to reverse excessive rises in the yen was shared with the public when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe deployed his “Abenomics” stimulus policies in 2012-2013 that consisted of bold monetary easing, loose fiscal policy and structural reform, Ishiba told parliament.

“But what could have been appropriate policies at the time, if sustained, could cause side-effects,” he added.

Ishiba also said the government must scrutinise what the appropriate exchange-rate level for Japan’s economy could be. He did not elaborate on specific levels.