Haruhiko Kuroda said that the Bank of Japan (8301) will do whatever is needed to end 15 years of deflation should he be confirmed as governor and indicated that open-ended asset purchases could start sooner than next year. “I would like to make my stance clear that we will do whatever we can do,” Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, said at a confirmation hearing in the parliament in Tokyo today. The central bank hasn’t bought enough assets and should consider buying large amounts of longer-term bonds, he said. (full story)