The Bank of Japan released the minutes of its Monetary Policy Meetings from July to December 2012.
Just before the December meeting, then-President Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) called on the BOJ to set a price target of 2% in an effort to break out of deflation. It turns out that there was concern that if the target was not achieved, confidence in the BOJ would decline, which would have a negative impact on the economy.
At that time, the Bank of Japan was aiming for a price increase rate of 1% for the time being. directly asked to set a price target of 10%.
According to the minutes, at the December meeting held the next day, then Deputy Governor Nishimura said, "There is a clear misunderstanding among overseas market participants that the BOJ is reluctant to break out of deflation. I think it's happening because we set the target of 20% as 1%."
On the other hand, then-Governor Shirakawa said, ``When it comes to raising the inflation rate, which is currently at zero, I wonder if we can really achieve this within a reasonable period of time. Confidence in the government will decline.In the end, it will be negative for the economy."
After that, he pointed out, "It's not just a question of enthusiasm, but a concrete policy theory about how to realize this."
The month after this meeting, the Bank of Japan and the government signed a joint statement stating that they would promote monetary easing to achieve the price target of 2%. I believe that the target has not been achieved.