It is an important lesson which is not only evidenced by events in the history of central banking, but also by the academic literature, that any blurring of responsibilities can potentially lead to a  2  2  See Goodfriend (2007), “How the World Achieved Consensus on Monetary Policy,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21, 47–68; Mishkin F. (2007), “Will Monetary Policy Become More of a Science?,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series, Federal Reserve Board, 2007–44; Woodford M. (2009), Convergence in Macroeconomics: Elements of the New Synthesis,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 1, 267–279.
Specifically, the Bank has established a new framework called the Asset Purchase Program through which it conducts the fixed-rate funds-supplying operation against pooled collateral and purchases various financial assets. The assets to be purchased range from long-term government bonds and treasury discount bills to risk assets such as CP, corporate bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and Japan real estate investment trusts (J-REITs).