The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the Summary of Opinions from its January monetary policy meeting on January 22 and 23. Key quotes from the summary include:

• “One member emphasized the need for the BOJ to patiently maintain monetary easing under Yield Curve Control (YCC).”
• “One member stated that a positive wage-inflation spiral must strengthen further, with wage growth clearly exceeding 2%, for Japan to achieve the BOJ’s 2% target.”
• “One member mentioned that the prerequisites for policy change, including ending negative rates, appear to be falling into place given improvements in the economy and prices.”
• “One member noted that the phase has been reached where confirmation through specific economic data is necessary to assess the likelihood of achieving the 2% inflation target.”
• “One member expressed optimism, stating that there is a strong chance to judge that policy normalization is possible once the impact of the earthquake on the economy is confirmed in the coming 1-2 months.”
• “One member highlighted the importance of deepening the debate on exit strategies as the likelihood of achieving the price target has heightened.”
• “One member remarked that it is challenging to pre-set an interest rate path after ending negative rates.”