Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday signaled his support for a planned two-stage consumption tax rise starting next year, saying it will be "extremely difficult" for the central bank to deal with a potential fall in government bond prices if the government postpones the hike.
Kuroda expressed the view after the central bank upgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in two months, stating it "is recovering moderately" on the back of a revival in corporate spending and solid consumer spending amid improving employment and income conditions.
It was the first time since autumn 2008 that the BOJ has used the term "recovering" in describing the state of the nation's economy.
