Beyond Zero: Transparency in the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy

Japan’s economy has problems that, undoubtedly, are more complex than monetary policy might be expected to solve. But other kinds of policy actions stand a better chance of success when monetary policy is transparent. Transparency means that market participants’ anticipations of central bank actions are congruent with those of policymakers themselves. The Bank of Japan has made repeated efforts toward greater transparency since achieving independence in 1998.