From the Japan Times:
YOKOHAMA – Economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari said Saturday the government will step up economic recovery efforts so that the benchmark Nikkei index jumps an additional 17 percent to 13,000 points by the end of March.HT: ZeroHedge
“It will be important to show our mettle and see the Nikkei reach the 13,000 mark by the end of the fiscal year (March 31),” Amari said in a speech.
The Nikkei 225 stock average, which last week climbed to its highest level since September 2008, finished at 11,153.16 on Friday.
“We want to continue taking (new) steps to help stock prices rise” further, Amari stressed, referring to the core policies of the Liberal Democratic Party administration — the promotion of bold monetary easing, fiscal spending and greater private sector investment....MORE
Via the same ZH post: "Kuroda favors Abe's inflation target, mum about BOJ role"
The Japanese authorities are not shy about buying equities. From a Feb. 2008 post:
...The FT reported February 21, 2002 "Japan Suspected of Stock Market Intervention".Last year the BoJ bought equities the way some people buy books, by the pound, via ETF's
A Google search finds 700 references to the "Stock Buying Body".
Here's a pungent one:
"We must halt this fall in shares. It's like diarrhea, we must stop it. The stock-buying body was set up precisely to absorb such selling (offloading of cross-shareholdings by banks). If February is such a month, there is no excuse for not functioning at that crucial time."Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokaw – Feb 7
See also:
"The Bank of Japan is the Weirdest Central Bank in the World"
