TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Japan's government and the
central bank on Monday held a fresh round of discussions on the
role each should play in achieving sustained wage hikes aimed at
eliminating the risk of the country returning to deflation.
The meeting of the government's top economic council focused
on whether recent rises in inflation and wage growth suggest
Japan is approaching a sustained exit from deflation.
"While there have been some positive signs in recent data,
we must ensure they are stable and sustainable so that Japan
won't revert to deflation," the Cabinet Office told the meeting.
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda spoke about the
bank's resolve to patiently maintain ultra-loose monetary
policy, according to presentation material released after the
meeting.
In a separate session that included academics and
private-sector experts, some participants urged the BOJ to end
quantitative easing when inflation stabilises around its 2%
inflation target, a summary of the discussions released by the
Cabinet Office showed.
"When inflation and wages continue to increase, the BOJ
should eye modifying its extraordinary monetary easing
measures," the summary said.
With inflation currently exceeding the BOJ's 2% target,
markets are rife with speculation that the central bank will
soon phase out its massive stimulus programme which combines
huge asset purchases and a pledge to cap long-term interest
rates around zero.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)
Messaging: leika.kihara.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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