In particular, from the viewpoint of achieving the target “at the earliest possible time,” it was important for the Bank to take measures bold enough to be considered different from the measures in the past.
The Bank therefore decided to change the main operating target for money market operations from the uncollateralized overnight call rate (i.e., interest rates) to the monetary base (i.e., quantity), to be doubled in two years. In addition, to achieve this target the Bank also decided to double its holdings of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in two years.