Bank of Japan leaks are making an awful mess

Like a sieve: Ueda leaving the BoJ’s headquarters in Tokyo. Japanese media have been getting the jump in releasing information about decisions by the central bank. — Bloomberg

THE Bank of Japan (BoJ) is often accused of being a laggard. When it comes to releasing details of its policy meetings, however, it’s jumping the gun.

More than 12 hours before Tuesday’s decision was officially announced, reports in the media indicated that the central bank was preparing another tweak to the yield-curve control (YCC) – a leak that proved to be substantiated.