BoJ mulls 2% inflation target

Shirakawa is surrounded by reporters after he met Abe at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo. Abe has turned up the heat and made a rare, direct push for a higher inflation target. — AFP

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will ease monetary policy this week and consider adopting a 2% inflation target no later than in January, sources said, responding to pressure from next Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for stronger efforts to beat deflation.

Turning up the heat, Abe made a rare, direct push for a higher inflation target when BoJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa visited the headquarters of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) yesterday.