The Bank of Japan’s monstrous QE that had become part of the national economic religion of Abenomics under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early 2013 ended without fanfare. Following Abe’s announcement of his retirement in August 2020, Abenomics went out the door, and the BoJ began tapering its massive asset purchases in the fall of 2020. And on its balance sheet as of October 31, released today, total assets, at ¥725 trillion ($6.36 trillion) were down a smidgen from the level at the end of August (¥727 trillion) and have essentially been flat since May except for minor fluctuations: {chart} The BoJ has been shedding ... (full story)