The head of the Bank of Japan says the central bank will continue to carry out strong monetary easing until expectations for inflation are within sight.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said Monday that domestic consumption is still sluggish and on a downward track in Japan despite a series of financial easing policies.

Shirakawa said that a substantial switch in economic policies is necessary to resolve the issue of deflation that has afflicted the Japanese economy for a long time. He proposed the adoption of additional economic stimulus policies and a rise in wages as part of the remedy.

The Bank of Japan took additional financial easing measures worth eleven trillion yen last month, saying that domestic consumption was seriously discouraged in Japan.