BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told the parliament that “optimism over the global economic outlook and steady vaccine rollouts may be behind the recent surge in stock prices”. Nevertheless, he also warned that “global outlook remains highly uncertain and risks to Japan’s economy remained tilted to the downside. His comment came when Nikkei closed above 30k level for the first time in three decades.
Kuroda also noted that it’s premature to consider exiting the massive monetary stimulus measures, including ETF purchase. “It’s likely to take significant time to achieve our price target. As such, now is not the time to think about an exit including from our ETF buying,” he said.
Finance Minister Taro Aso also said, it’s not time to withdraw fiscal support. “The biggest issue now is when to shift from crisis-mode policy to fiscal restoration. In doing so, it’s important for such action to be coordinated,” he added.