黒田日銀緩和策 デフレ脱却に向けた第一歩だ

[The Yomiuri Shimbun] April 6, 2013
EDITORIAL / BOJ's bold fiscal package marks 1st step toward busting deflation
黒田日銀緩和策　デフレ脱却に向けた第一歩だ（4月5日付・読売社説）

In an effort to raise the national economy out of protracted deflation, newly appointed Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has forged a new package of quantitative and qualitative monetary easing steps.
　デフレ脱却に向けて、黒田東彦日銀総裁が、新たな量的・質的金融緩和策を打ち出した。

It is only right that the central bank's new leadership has taken such bold action so soon after taking control.
　新体制の発足からすぐに、果敢に動いたのは妥当である。

The government and the bank must deepen their cooperation to steadily guide the nation onto a favorable course.
政府と日銀が連携を強化し、着実に成果を上げねばならない。

The bank's newest monetary easing measures are designed to achieve its 2 percent inflation target in two years, primarily by means of doubling the bank's holdings of long-term government bonds and nongovernment assets such as ETFs, or exchange-traded funds.
　今回の緩和策は、政府と合意した物価上昇率２％のインフレ目標を２年で達成するとし、長期国債や上場投資信託（ＥＴＦ）の保有額を倍増する内容だ。

In addition, the bank has shifted the focus of its monetary measures from interest rate adjustment to the monetary base--the amount of cash it pumps into the economy--and is determined to nearly double the amount of money in circulation to 270 trillion yen by the end of 2014.
　金融調節の目標も短期金利から資金供給量（マネタリーベース）に切り替え、２年で約２倍の２７０兆円に拡大する。

A 'different level of policy'

In a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting Thursday, Kuroda said the bank took "all the available and necessary steps we could think of, instead of an approach that implements remedies one by one."
　黒田総裁は記者会見で、「戦力の逐次投入をせず、現時点で必要な政策をすべて講じた」と述べた。

Kuroda's statement can be seen to signal a drastic transformation in the bank's way of thinking that takes into account the failure of its conventional monetary policy for combating deflation, which until now has consisted of incremental steps.
小出しの対応を繰り返し、デフレ退治に失敗した従来の金融政策を、抜本的に転換する考えを示したと言えよう。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who appointed Kuroda to the top post, highly praised the bank's latest decision, saying, "Mr. Kuroda is just the person to usher in a different level of monetary policy," adding that the governor has "lived up splendidly to expectations."
　黒田氏を総裁に起用した安倍首相は、「次元の違う金融政策に取り組んでもらえる人だ。見事に期待に応えてもらった」と、決定を高く評価した。

The Nikkei 225 index in the Tokyo market climbed sharply Thursday, while the pace of the yen's depreciation was spurred rapidly.
　東京市場の平均株価は大幅高となり、為替相場も急速に円安が進んだ。

It seems the market has reacted favorably, at least for the present, to the implementation of bold monetary easing, which is referred to as the "first arrow" in the quiver of the Abe's administration's economic policy, dubbed Abenomics.
安倍政権の経済政策・アベノミクスの「１本目の矢」である大胆な金融緩和の実現を、市場はひとまず好感したのだろう。

It is also significant that the central bank under Kuroda has specified a time in which it hopes to realize the concrete inflation target at which its policy is aimed. The bank has elucidated the reasoning behind its quantitative easing steps, making it easy for the public to understand the direction in which it intends to head.
　黒田日銀が、政策の達成時期や量的緩和の目標を具体的に示し、金融政策の方向性をわかりやすくしたのも大きな前進だ。

We hope to see the central bank under Kuroda's leadership use ingenuity to enrich its dialogue with the market to ensure that the desired effects of its policy percolate through to the farthest reaches of the market.
　黒田総裁のリーダーシップのもと、「市場との対話」を工夫し、政策の意図をさらに浸透させることを期待したい。

The central bank has temporarily suspended its self-imposed rule of capping its holdings of government bonds at the equivalent value of bank notes currently in circulation. This measure should be understood as having been undertaken with the aim of preventing the rule from constraining the bank's ability to boldly push forward with the envisioned quantitative easing.
　今回日銀は、国債の保有額を日本銀行券（お札）の発行高までとする「銀行券ルール」を一時停止した。このルールが天井となり、量的緩和を積極的に進めにくくなることを避ける狙いだ。

There has been concern in the market and elsewhere, however, that the bank's purchases of government bonds could spin out of control, a situation in which such purchases would be used to cover deficits in the government's finances.
　ただし、市場などでは、日銀の国債購入に歯止めがなくなり、財政赤字の穴埋めにつながるとする懸念も出ている。

Monetary easing not enough

It is necessary for the government to demonstrate in a tangible way its resolve to exercise fiscal discipline by such means as cutting back on wasteful fiscal spending to prevent the development of mistrust in government bonds.
　国債の信認が失墜する事態を招かぬよう、政府はムダな財政支出の削減など、財政規律の確保を行動で示す必要がある。

Although the first faint glimmers of a silver lining around the economy can be seen, the lingering dearth of demand means that ongoing efforts against deflation remain in shackles.
　景気は明るさを増してきたが、依然として需要不足がデフレ克服の足かせとなっている。

It can hardly be possible to achieve the 2 percent inflation target in two years solely by means of monetary easing.
金融緩和だけで、２％のインフレ目標を２年で達成するのは難しい。

To materialize a "favorable boost in prices," accompanied by improvements in business activities and employment, it is imperative for the government to push ahead with a growth strategy through such measures as helping nurture new, promising kinds of industry and working to foster external demand in Asia and elsewhere.
　景気・雇用の改善を伴う「良い物価上昇」を実現するため、政府が新産業の育成やアジアなど海外需要の拡大に向けて、成長戦略を推進することが不可欠だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 5, 2013)
（2013年4月5日01時49分  読売新聞）