If taken to extremes, the wilting of the market could become a problem, making it harder for the government to issue debt and the BoJ to trade it. A more imminent concern is whether its listless state will deter the BoJ from expanding QE later this year. The 2% inflation target remains distant, but bigger debt purchases would make it look even more like the central bank was funding the budget deficit, and set up an even more difficult adjustment when QE ends. Mr Matsuzawa argues that the BoJ should give the market more room to breathe next year by reducing its bond purchases instead—although for the moment, that looks like wishful thinking.