COVID-19: Japan takes steps to allay economic woes

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – Japan on Monday announced measures to support financial markets and help its economy overcome a slowdown induced by the global coronavirus outbreak.

According to Kyodo News, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) doubled its annual purchases of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to $112 billion.

The decision marks the first time the central bank has introduced additional easing measures since July 2016, when it increased ETFs purchases to $56 billion.

The BoJ, however, did not further reduce short-term interest rates, which are currently set at minus 0.1 percent.

In its overall assessment, the bank said Japan’s economy “has been weak recently” due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The BoJ will also provide liquidity to the country’s banks which, in turn, will help companies raise funds.

The central bank further said it will cooperate with counterparts to supply dollar funds at lower costs and for longer maturities.

The move comes after embattled markets forced the U.S. federal bank to announce rate cuts.

Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is witnessing a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Oct-Dec quarter last year, the country’s economy witnessed the “sharpest fall” in five years, and fears abound that Japan may continue to post negative quarterly growth.