Bank of Japan sticks to ultra-easy monetary policy in light of ‘extremely high uncertainties’

Japan’s central bank expectedly left its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged at its final policy meeting this year in light of “extremely high uncertainties” affecting the world’s third-largest economy, pushing any likely unwinding to the new year.

The Bank of Japan

Japan’s umbrella labor union, Rengo, said in October that it would demand wage hikes of at least 5% at next year’s spring wage negotiations. The union managed to secure the biggest raise in three decades at this year’s talks in March.

The BOJ’s monetary policy is complex and multi-faceted due to the various quantitative easing tools it has used to reflate the world’s third-largest economy in the last three decades.

Its super-easy posture also sets it apart as an outlier at a time when other major central banks have raised rates to combat stubbornly high inflation. This policy divergence has partly accounted for pressures on the Japanese yen and government bonds.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.