Japan's New Prime Minister Targets Complete Exit From Deflation With Easy Monetary Policy

By Megumi Fujikawa

TOKYO--Japan's new prime minister pledged to aim for a complete exit from deflation and asked the Bank of Japan to maintain accommodative monetary conditions.

"We will keep close cooperation [with the BOJ], and we will be keeping an eye to ensure that the trend of monetary easing will be maintained," Shigeru Ishiba said at a news conference Tuesday.

He said he wouldn't comment on specific monetary policy measures because it is up to the central bank to decide.

The comments came amid growing speculation over the timing of the BOJ's next interest-rate increase. The bank raised its policy rate to 0.25% at the end of July.

Ishiba said he would soon release a fresh economic package to ease the burden of rising prices, including a payout to low-income households.

"The Japanese economy is on the verge of escaping deflation," he said.

Earlier in the day, Ishiba, the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was chosen as the nation's new prime minister by Parliament to replace Fumio Kishida.

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2024 09:28 ET (13:28 GMT)

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