NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday the adoption of negative interest rates in January did not mean the central bank was shifting its policy focus to interest rates from massive asset purchases.
While reiterating his resolve to ease monetary policy again if risks threatening the achievement of the BOJ's 2 percent inflation target, Kuroda maintained his optimism on Japan's economy.
"Private consumption has been resilient, albeit with some fluctuations due to factors such as (bad) weather," Kuroda said in a speech at Columbia University.
"Japan's economy has continued its moderate recovery," with underlying trend inflation improving steadily, he said.