Earlier in the year, it seemed likely that by now the Bank of Japan would actively be contemplating ending its strategy of "quantitative easing", pumping yen into the money markets to keep official interest rates near zero. Tuesday's cautious comments by Toshihiko Fukui, BoJ governor, suggests it will stick to its existing policy stance for a fair while yet.

Delaying the exit would be the right decision to make. Although its forecasts for consumer price inflation in fiscal 2005, due as the BoJ's board meets at the end of this week, may turn positive - one of the triggers the bank has set for abandoning quantitative easing - it is too early to conclude that deflation has been banished.