Toshihiko Kuroda, governor of the BoJ, said it would be difficult for the BoJ to meet its price targets even by 2023, hinting that the BoJ would maintain loose monetary policy for a long time after the end of its current term.

In response to questions from members of Congress, Mr. Kuroda said that prices in Japan are falling under the impact of the pandemic, rather than moving toward the 2% target, which means the Bank of Japan will not be able to meet its inflation target by 2023.

It is rare for Mr. Kuroda to make longer-term forecasts than those in the Bank of Japan's quarterly inflation expectations report. In its latest report last month, the BoJ predicted that prices would rise 0.7 per cent in the year to March 2023. Mr. Kuroda's current five-year term will also end around March 2023.

The Bank of Japan will conduct a policy review at its March 18-19 meeting to make its stimulus measures more effective and sustainable. Mr Kuroda's comments suggest that the time frame that the BoJ will take into account in its policy review will be further extended.

When Mr Kuroda launched a massive easing programme in April 2013, he initially set about two years to meet the inflation target.