Insight - It’s time for Japan to turn around

Goal achieved: A man eats his meal next to images of food displayed at a restaurant in Tokyo. Consumer prices rose 2.1% in April from a year earlier, finally reaching the BoJ’s target. — Reuters

JAPAN has been trying for a long time to kindle a fairly modest amount of inflation – and pioneered radical monetary policies in a strenuous effort to succeed.

Now, with an assist from a global surge in prices, Covid-generated bottlenecks and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country might just be making progress.