Kuroda Sees Japan's Economic Recovery Become Evident Next Year

Tokyo, Dec. 23 (Jiji Press)--Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday that the country's economic recovery is "expected to become evident next year" as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to wane. "Downward pressure stemming from the impact of COVID-19 and supply-side constraints are likely to wane, and the government's new economic measures are expected to have positive effects," Kuroda said in a speech in Tokyo. Kuroda said, "The yen's depreciation might have an increasingly negative impact on household income through price rises." But he added that a weaker yen leads to an increase in exports and allows Japanese companies to earn more from overseas operations. "The yen's depreciation basically has a net positive impact on Japan's economy," he said. The BOJ governor said that the central bank's "basic policy stance is to persistently continue with the current powerful monetary easing." END