Suntory CEO expects next BOJ governor to show clear policy roadmap (updated)

Suntory Beverage & Food

24/01/2023 04:32

(Updates with quotes, more details)
       TOKYO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The head of Suntory Holdings
Ltd, Takeshi Niinami, said on Tuesday he expected the next
governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to show a clear policy
roadmap, including criteria for ending its practice of
controlling both long- and short-term interest rates.
    Niinami, an influential leader who is expected to become the
next chairman of business lobby Keizai Doyukai in April, also
said he wanted to keep lifting wages for Suntory employees while
the cost of living kept rising - not just to support their
living standards but also to activate economic growth led by the
private sector.
    With the end of the term of current BOJ governor Haruhiko
Kuroda coming up in April, Japanese business managers and
investors are focused on the course of monetary policy to be
adopted by his successor.
        The BOJ stuck to its ultra-easy policy at a two-day
policy meeting that ended on Jan. 16, defying investors who had
bet on it ceasing to defend a cap on the 10-year government bond
yield. The cap is part of a policy called yield curve control
(YCC).
  
        But Niinami said expectations were growing that the BOJ
would sooner or later end its expansionist experiment. 
  
        "The ultra-easy policy can't be kept forever, given
current (economic) conditions. The market knows that," Niinami
told Reuters in an interview.
  
        "The timing of when to end the YCC and to enter the next
phase, and guidelines of when we can expect the (policy) exit
... we need to see a clear roadmap like that, one that is easy
to understand."
        Niinami also said economic growth led by the private
sector would be needed to help prevent Japan's financial health
worsening further. 
  
        To help employees cope with rising prices, Suntory
planned to raise wages by about 6% in the fiscal year beginning
on April 1, he said. The company hoped to continue raising wages
as long while inflation persisted, he added.
        "This is our corporate responsibility. We need to manage
the company that is able to hike wage and to motivate
employees," said Niinami, also a former chairman of convenience
store operator Lawson Inc  2651.T .
 (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Miho Uranaka; Editing by
Shri Navaratnam and Bradley Perrett)
 ((Mariko.Katsumura@thomsonreuters.com;))