
More Yen Sanity
There's one dove left in a world of monetary policy hawks.
The Bank of Japan "will keep up powerful easing with yield-curve control as a pillar," Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday. Price dynamics in Japan, he remarked, "differ a lot" from those in the US and Europe, and the BoJ "must" persist with accommodation to support the domestic economy.
Kuroda's commitment piled still more pressure on the yen, which hit another 20-year low this week, renewing concerns about disorderly depreciation following
Another thing that probably “differs a lot” between Japan and the US is the level of outrage that would have ensued if it was J-Pow that had uttered that response in the final paragraph.
I wonder what Kuroda’s term is for “normal economic persons” ?
They are only opening to tourism in the form of small highly regimented very expensive guided tours for now. This is thought to be preparatory to opening for independent travelers. The hope is news reports featuring foreign tourism restarting in this highly constrained form will prepare the population for the resumption of 2019 level foreign tourism. Only if this happens will the weak yen be able to meaningfully bolster tourism. My wife and I will do our part by going for fall colors if they reopen in time.