QQE differs from past policies in that it seeks to actively influence private entities’ expectation formation. Under QQE, the Bank has been purchasing long-term government bonds with various remaining maturities in order to put downward pressure on the yield curve as a whole. We believe that through this measure we can encourage a further decline in interest rates and thereby further stimulate private demand.
More than one year has passed since the introduction of QQE and it has been having the intended effects, leading to an improvement in financial markets, the real economy, prices, and expectations.