TOKYO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Tuesday that Japan's fiscal situation is "very serious."

However, he denied that the central bank is financing the government's budget with its massive purchases of government bonds.

"I personally think Japan's fiscal situation is very serious," Kuroda said during a parliamentary committee session.

He made the comment at a time when the government is relying on massive bond issuances to support stimulus measures and aid the pandemic-stricken economy.

Kuroda said the central bank is buying government bonds not as a way to finance fiscal policies but with the aim to achieve its 2-percent inflation target in its ultra-easy monetary policy.

He also admitted that monetary policies have not been entirely effective in achieving an intended level of inflation after the BOJ adopted inflation targeting in January 2013.

"I feel responsible for not having been able to achieve" the central bank's inflation target so far, he said.

In April 2020, The BOJ decided to scrap its annual ceiling of 80 trillion yen (779.6 billion U.S. dollars) for its government bond holdings in order to strengthen monetary easing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, giving itself access to buying bonds for an unlimited amount.

In fiscal 2021 starting in April, the government plans to issue 236.01 trillion yen (2.3 trillion U.S. dollars) worth of bonds, up 82.55 trillion yen (804.4 billion U.S. dollars) compared to the initial plan for the current year, the Finance Ministry said in December. Enditem

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