TOKYO -- The Japanese economy has been decelerating mainly due to the stagnation of domestic housing investments and a possible slowdown in the US economy, Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said Thursday.
Muto made the comments in his speech to local business leaders in northern Japan's Sapporo city. He said the BOJ, the country's central bank, will carefully consider the timing of any change in its policy, according to Kyodo News.
However, Muto, the top hopeful to succeed BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui whose term ends March 19, expressed his confidence that the Japanese economy will keep on its steady recovery in the long term.
In December 2007, the BOJ cut its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in about three years.
