Bank of Japan pledges unlimited easing, commits to price goal

TOKYO (REUTERS) - The Bank of Japan announced on Tuesday its most determined effort yet to end years of economic stagnation, saying it would switch to an open-ended commitment to buying assets next year and doubling its inflation target to 2 per cent.

It promised to reach the inflation goal "at the earliest possible time."

The steps mark a break with an earlier policy of topping up a lending and asset buying programme launched in October 2010 and follow weeks of relentless pressure from new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a greater push to beat deflation and lift the economy out of recession.

In a joint statement with the government, it affirmed a well-flagged move to commit to the inflation target. Consumer price inflation has reached 2 per cent in only a handful of months since the late 1990s.