TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s central bank issued an upbeat assessment of the world’s third-largest economy when it wrapped up its final meeting of the year Tuesday by keeping its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged.
The Bank of Japan kept its key policy interest rate at minus 0.1 percent.
While the U.S. Federal Reserve is raising interest rates as the U.S. recovery gains momentum, Japan is still struggling to pull out of a slow-growth rut. The BOJ’s assessment of the economy said exports, investment and industrial production had shown signs of improvement.
Structural factors such as low productivity and a shrinking population are hindering the recovery, and BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has called for broader economic reforms and government spending to supplement his monetary policy “bazooka.” Here are a few key indicators:
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