URGENT: Gov't to revise accord with BOJ to make price target flexible

The Japanese government is set to revise a decade-old accord with the Bank of Japan that states the central bank will aim to achieve its 2 percent inflation target "at the earliest possible time," government sources said Saturday.

In the first review since the joint agreement was made in 2013, the government will make the price goal more flexible, the sources said. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to work out details with the next BOJ governor, who will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda in April.

The revision could lead the BOJ to tweak its bold monetary easing as the side-effects of its ultralow interest rate policy, most notably the yen's sharp depreciation against other major currencies, have become more evident and pose a challenge for the Kishida administration.

© Kyodo News