Kuroda, Governor of Bank of Japan, Says "Economic Recovery Progressing Slowly... Will Continue Support for Corporate Funding"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), stated that economic recovery from the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is progressing slowly, and that the BOJ will continue its large-scale monetary easing policy while focusing on supporting corporate financing. Although the impact of COVID-19 is not as severe as in the United States so far, he emphasized that if necessary, the BOJ will not hesitate to implement additional monetary easing measures.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 15th, Governor Kuroda said at a press conference following the two-day Monetary Policy Meeting held from the previous day, "The measures to support corporate financing and stabilize the market since March have been effective," and "We are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19, and if necessary, we will not hesitate to take additional monetary easing measures." Regarding the economic situation, he explained, "The situation in the capital investment sector is improving, and production and consumption sectors appear to have bottomed out, but the pace of recovery is not something to be optimistic about."

Earlier, the BOJ presented a GDP growth forecast range of -5.7% to -4.5% for this year in its "Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices" report. The statistical median was -4.7%. The GDP growth forecast for next year was announced as 3.0% to 4.0% (median 3.3%). The BOJ maintained its previous assessment that the Japanese economy is in a "very difficult state" and expected the economy to gradually recover from the latter half of this year.

Governor Kuroda stated, "Except for the United States, there are no advanced market countries where a second wave of COVID-19 infections is an immediate concern, and Japan is not considered to be in a second wave situation." He added, "However, since the economic recovery is expected to proceed very gradually in the second half of the year, we plan to continue supporting corporate financing for the time being." Regarding the impact of the US-China conflict surrounding Hong Kong, he avoided commenting by saying, "It is a political issue, so it is difficult to discuss specific matters."