The Bank of Japan said on Thursday that its new 2 per cent inflation target would be operated “very flexibly”, as the central bank sought to head off accusations that its aggressive monetary policy would distort the global economy.

Haruhiko Kuroda, the BoJ’s new governor, argued that his strategy to double Japan’s money supply was not an attempt to manipulate the value of the yen and would not give rise to asset bubbles.

“If there is any serious asset market bubble appearing or approaching, of course we will take necessary measures,” Mr Kuroda said, stressing the similarity between the BoJ’s new policy and existing central bank orthodoxy. “All central banks that adopt a so-called inflation targeting policy manage the inflation target very flexibly.”