Toshihiko Fukui, governor of the Bank of Japan, has been sending a signal through speeches and testimony in the Diet that the time is ripe for ending quantitative easing (QE). Under this policy, excess liquidity has been provided to the market to encourage commercial banks to pile up zero-interest deposits at the BoJ, currently targeted at Y30,000-Y35,000bn ($258bn-$301bn).

The BoJ considers that the self-imposed conditions for an exit from QE ? positive inflation, reflected in the consumer price index (excluding fresh food, but including energy prices), as an actual rate (from the same month of the preceding year) and as a forecast ? have been satisfied.