BoJ’s Takata: Hard to debate at this stage to what degree BoJ can shrink its balance sheet

Bank of Japan (BoJ) Board Member Hajime Takata made some comments on the bank’s policy outlook and economic prospects during his speech on Thursday.

Key quotes

Japan's economy recovering moderately although some weak signs seen

Stock, FX markets have seen big volatility but we still see achievement of our inflation target in sight.

We are seeing renewed rises in import prices.

We must be vigilant to chance of renewed wave of price hikes, while taking into account impact of Yen rise in early august.

Hard to pin down precise level of Japan's natural rate of interest.

Japan's current real interest rate is below estimated natural rate of interest, which means monetary conditions remain accommodative.

Fallout from market turbulence in early august remains, so we must scrutinize the impact for time being.