Japan Not in Inflation: Ex-BOJ Iwata

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan is not in inflation, with its price increases limited compared with those in other countries despite the yen's weakness, former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kikuo Iwata said Wednesday.

"As a whole, Japan is not considered to be in inflation," Iwata said in an online speech at a conference in an office building for parliament members in Tokyo. "What's wrong with the yen's weakness?"

The BOJ should not raise interest rates to stem the yen's slide, because such a move would trigger corporate bankruptcies and lead to deterioration in the employment situation, he said.

Rises in Japanese food and energy prices have been smaller than those in Britain and Germany, Iwata said, warning that Japan would slide back into deflation if the BOJ raises interest rates.

"Economists criticizing Abenomics (reflationary policies) are just a bunch of amateurs in economics," he also said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]