Japan key panel urges BOJ to set 2% long-term inflation target

A group of academics and business executives on Monday urged the Bank of Japan to set its 2 percent inflation target as a long-term target rather than one that must be achieved soon, as the costs of long-term easy monetary policy are rising. In the proposal, the committee also called for the need to bring interest rate increases more in line with economic fundamentals and to normalize the functioning of Japan’s bond market. Members of the committee include Yuri Okina, who is considered one of the candidates for the next BOJ vice-governor.