, Columnist
Bank of Japan Is Committed to Low Rates. Sort of. For Now.
Don't read too much into this talk of an "extended period" of stimulus. The board is already divided.
Masayoshi Amamiya knows what’s up. Listen closely.
Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg
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Japan may be just posing as an outlier.
Yes, the Bank of Japan renewed its commitment to ultra-low interest rates just as other developed economies were moving toward further rate increases and an end to stimulus. But beneath the headlines about the BOJ's pledge to keep printing money for an "extended period," Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his colleagues left clues to what higher rates might look like in Japan. They aren't ready to walk through that door, but the keys are on the table.