Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to boost investment in growth areas in her first economic blueprint finalized on Tuesday, a pledge overshadowed by rising bond yields reflecting concerns that the government could meddle in monetary policy.Takaichi's administration has struggled to shed market perceptions it could ramp up spending and pressure the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to delay interest rate hikes to curb the cost of funding Japan's already huge debt.
As government bond yields crept up to multi-decade highs since June, the administration was forced to tweak the blueprint's language on monetary policy several times.
A phrase in an early draft calling for monetary policy "that bolsters private demand" disappeared as long-term rates rose.
After a later version tying monetary policy to government efforts to boost growth jolted markets, revisions were made to clarify that the central bank sets policy "to achieve stable price rises."
The final blueprint retained language urging the BOJ to align its policy with that of the government, but inserted a footnote referring to a clause in law stipulating the need to protect the BOJ's independence in setting policy.
