Bank of Japan tiptoes toward financial bedlam

TOKYO — Has Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda, 103 days into the job, already blown it?

Inquiring minds in trading pits everywhere can’t help but wonder as inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) diverge in dangerous ways. And markets are getting exactly the last thing you’d want from Ueda’s BOJ: crickets.

Data released on Friday (July 21) showed that core inflation, which excludes fresh food, rose 3.3% in June year on year, faster than in the US. Japan’s inflation surge shows how quickly price dynamics can shift — and perhaps get away from a central bank.