6 The purpose of this first set of forward guidance was to signal to the markets and the public the Bank’s strong determination to achieve its 2 percent target within a time horizon of about two years, normally pursued by other central banks under the inflation targeting framework. The guidance combines both calendar-based (i.e., about two years) and state-contingent (i.e., 2 percent) features.
The calendar-based feature was considered to be essential to gain the confidence of the markets and the public in both the Bank’s intention and the possibility  6  In addition, the Bank will continue the purchases of CP and corporate bonds until their amounts outstanding reach 2.2 trillion yen and 3.2 trillion yen, respectively, by end-2013. Thereafter it will maintain those amounts outstanding.