IMF staff report on impact of coronavirus and Bank of Japan policy objectives
- Spread of coronavirus poses risk to Japan’s economy
- If prolonged and widespread, virus likely to affect Japan’s tourism, retail trade and investment
- Urges Bank of Japan to conduct comprehensive review of its policy objectives
- Bank of Japan should redefine its 2% inflation target as a long-term goal, set range around target
- Bank of Japan should clarify that objectives other than inflation, including financial stability, also matter for monetary policy
- Bank of Japan’s over optimism hitting 2% inflation target has hurt its credibility