In part of his book, former Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda Haruhiko (黒田東彦) again said that he had “no regrets” about the unprecedented monetary easing and looked back on the fight against deflation. The outlook for monetary policy normalization under his successor, Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男), is also discussed.
Kuroda Haruhiko (黒田東彦), who served as Governor of the Bank of Japan for many years before leaving office, again expressed the view in an excerpt from his book that there was no need for remorse over the unprecedented monetary easing. Looking back on his own experiences behind the fight against deflation, he wrote that he had not changed his assessment of the policy.
In discussing the process of monetary policy normalization, Kuroda Haruhiko (黒田東彦) looked back on the decision made at the Monetary Policy Meeting held on 9–10 March 2023 and explained that quantitative and qualitative monetary easing had been continued. Citing positive aspects of the economy, including improved employment and the return of base-pay increases, he said that the easing had been “a success.”
As a “negative legacy” carried over to the Bank of Japan under his successor, Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男), Kuroda Haruhiko (黒田東彦) cited the ¥500 trillion in Japanese government bonds and ¥35 trillion in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) purchased by the Bank of Japan, expressing the view that there was no need for remorse over these matters.
Regarding ETFs, he explained that continuing to hold them would provide the Bank of Japan with annual dividends of approximately ¥2 trillion, and that holding them rather than selling them would itself help reduce costs. He also referred to the policy of reinvesting during periods of rising interest rates.