One is because medium- to long-term price stability is now defined as a “goal” and is uniformly set through the consensus of all members of the Policy Board. Previous price stability was defined as an “understanding” in a manner that embraced differing views of price stability by each member, or it was simply a collection of the board members’ various views.
The other reason is that at both the market and individual level, the word “goal” may be viewed as a sign of stronger action on the part of the Bank than the word “understanding” would suggest, even though the Bank’s determination to conquer mild deflation is intact.