Japan Rolls Dice on Era of Easy Money

Article Excerpt

BY PHRED DVORAK AND ELEANOR WARNOCK
TOKYO—Japan’s new central bank governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, begins work Thursday on a feat no one before has managed: reversing nearly two decades of falling prices to lift wages and profits in the world’s third largest economy.
Mr. Kuroda’s predecessor, Masaaki Shirakawa, is among those who say it can’t be done, at least not with the tools at hand. Using central-bank policies to boost stagnant prices is like “punching air,” Mr. Shirakawa told parliament on Friday.
But backed by recently elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the new central-bank governor has declared a mission to reach the bank’s target of 2% inflation …
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Excerpt from: Japan Rolls Dice on Era of Easy Money