BOJ to shift emphasis to improving growth potential

On the face of it, the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board meeting next week looks like it will be a non event. The Board has acknowledged the weakening state of the domestic and global economy, and it extended the size and duration of its asset purchase scheme at its last meeting which concluded on19th September. However, a recent speech by the Deputy Governor leads us to believe that the Board may be shifting its emphasis to improving the economy’s growth potential in order to increase the benefits from the already extremely accommodative financial conditions.