BoJ seen keeping stimulus beyond Kuroda's term to 2018

The Bank of Japan is likely to increase its record stimulus even more, said 28 of 33 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, with a majority forecasting the bank will continue easing beyond Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's current term. The BoJ's decision to boost the pace of asset purchases on October 31 combined with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's later move to postpone a sales-tax increase have made any eventual tapering more difficult, said 22 of the economists in the survey, conducted December 11 to 16. Seventeen said the bank wouldn't be able to exit its policy before Kuroda's five-year term ends in April 2018.