Japan’s economy recovering but showing signs of weakness, says BOJ chief Ueda

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the economy is recovering moderately, but said there were some weakness seen in recent data.

“We are focusing on whether a positive wage-inflation cycle is kicking off, in judging whether sustainable, stable achievement of our price target is coming into sight,” Ueda told parliament.

In an earlier news conference Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday the country was not at a stage where it could declare deflation as beaten despite some positive developments such as high wage hikes and record levels of companies’ capital spending.

Speaking to reporters, Suzuki said he was aware that Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida had said the central bank would continue with accommodative monetary settings even after it ends its negative interest rate policy.