The Bank of Japan/BoJ should strengthen monetary easing without delay if the economy deteriorates to the extent that achieving the 2 percent price stability target in the long term becomes difficult, the central bank board member Yutaka Harada said in a speech. “At present, domestic demand such as capital expenditure and consumption has withstood the decline in external demand and production,” he added. “But it’s also true that downside risks to the economy are increasing. The impact of the consumption tax hike scheduled for October this year also is a concern.”
