Japan PM Kishida: Premature to say if govt-BOJ statement will be revised

 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday it was premature to state now whether the government and the central bank could revise a decade-old joint statement that commits the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to achieve its 2% inflation target at the earliest date possible.

"It's something for after the new Bank of Japan governor is decided," Kishida said in a seminar, on whether the government could initiate a revision of the statement.

As prime minister, Kishida has the power to decide a new BOJ governor, who will succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda when his second, five-year term ends in April next year.