Japan's new central bank governor says the economyhas stopped weakening and should show signs of recovery by midyear.
Haruhiko Kuroda, who spoke to lawmakers Thursday on the Bankof Japan's semiannual report, said there was still "a high degree ofuncertainty" about the economy given the crisis in Europe, the tenuousstate of the U.S. recovery and relations with China.
Kuroda said prices are unlikely to rise for the next fewmonths but that afterward Japan would see some progress toward its inflationtarget as the economy moved toward a "moderate recovery path."
The central bank and government have set a 2 percentinflation target, aiming to end years of growth-inhibiting deflation.
Kuroda has vowed to achieve that goal within twoyears.