1.INTRODUCTION
Soon after achieving full independence as a central bank in 1998, the Bank of Japan
(BOJ) found itself embarked on stormy seas. Its independence compares favorably with global standards, but it has sometimes faced harsh criticism and its path has often been a challenging one.
The challenges faced by the BOJ actually date back two decades. As the 1990s
began, Japan confronted the legacy of its collapsed bubble economy. Massive
obstacles—termed the “three excesses” in debt, capacity, and employment—blocked
the way. These obstacles prevented a smooth recovery in the Japanese economy for
more than 10 years. (Figure 1 and Figure 2)
A look at the financial factors behind the three excesses just noted shows that
excess debt required borrowers to continue to repay obligations until they could return to an optimal level of leverage. At the time, this process was a severe one since lenders (banks) were likewise required to cut lending to boost their capital position, which had been impaired by the accumulation of nonperforming loans (NPLs). In these circumstances, it is easy to see that standard monetary easing, in which interest rates were cut to boost bank lending, could not work.