While economic activities in Japan and overseas and the financial and capital markets have been severely affected by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), the Japanese Government and the Bank of Japan have, in mutual cooperation, aggressively carried out various measures to ensure smooth corporate financing and maintain stability in financial markets, thereby supporting the overall economic activities. The Government has been swiftly implementing the emergency economic measures amounting to 117 trillion yen and the first supplementary budget both of which were decided in April, providing strong measures for supporting ... (full story)

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda met in Tokyo, the finance ministry said on Friday, in a show of resolve to coordinate policies to combat the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The rare bilateral meeting came hours after an emergency BOJ rate review at which the central bank decided to create a new loan scheme to channel more funds to small businesses hit by the coronavirus. The pair’s first such meeting in nearly four years underscores the concern Tokyo has over the growing risk that without firmer policy steps, the pandemic could lead to a spike in ... (full story)