Messages we hear through the Bank’s liaison program in the Newcastle area are also consistent with what we are hearing elsewhere in the country: despite the slowing in economic growth, businesses are facing labour availability constraints stemming from a lack of suitable labour, high levels of job switching and a shortage of housing.
We are now in the process of increasing the amount outstanding of the Program toward 70 trillion yen and the effects of monetary easing will strengthen in a continuous manner day after day as the process continues. In retrospect, the Bank’s monetary policy stance since the Lehman shock has been changing according to the state of Japan’s economy.