TOKYO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday upgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the seventh consecutive month, using the word "recover" for the first time in two and a half years.
At a two-day policy meeting ended Thursday, the BOJ also kept its target of achieving an inflation rate of around 2 percent in two years to beat the deflation that has lasted for decades.
Following the meeting, the nine-member Policy Board decided unanimously to maintain its aggressive monetary easing policy introduced in April, centering on doubling the monetary base and boosting purchases of government bonds.
The upgrading in the BOJ's assessment of the current economic state came after its Tankan quarterly survey showed that the business confidence index among large Japanese manufacturers returned to positive territory in June for the first time in seven quarters, supported by recovering exports amid a weakening yen and improving U.S. economy.
Sales at department stores are also picking up.
In its statement on Thursday, the BOJ said exports have been " picking up," while capital investment "has stopped weakening and shown some signs of picking up as corporate profits have improved. "
The BOJ said that public investment has continued to increase and the pickup in housing investment "has become evident."
Regarding the outlook, "Japan's economy is expected to recover moderately on the back of the resilience in domestic demand and the pickup in overseas economies," the BOJ said in the latest statement. "The year-on-year rate of change in the CPI is likely to turn positive."
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