Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has pledged to maintain monetary easing to support an economy that’s still recovering from the pandemic and has yet to achieve a stable pace of inflation.

Wages need to increase much more to achieve Japan’s price-stability target, Kuroda said at the Institute of International Finance annual meeting in Washington on Wednesday. The BOJ needs to continue easing in order to secure that inflation target and support the economic recovery, he said.

Kuroda reiterated his view that Japan’s inflation, which has accelerated thanks in part to a sharp weakening in the yen, is different than that seen in the U.S. and eurozone economies. Stable inflation must be accompanied by wage increases, and there’s a need for caution about the outlook for consumer prices, he said.

The yen on Wednesday dropped past ¥146 per dollar, weaker than the level it hit last month that prompted Japan’s first intervention to buy the yen since 1998. Earlier this week, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said there was no change in his stance to take appropriate steps if there are excessive moves in the yen, as authorities have indicated their focus is on volatility not the level of the currency.

Kuroda said that while some sectors of Japan’s economy are suffering from the impact of the weakening yen, overall the currency’s depreciation might have had a positive macroeconomic effect.

The BOJ chief also reiterated his view that Japan’s intervention was appropriate. He said that the BOJ will continue to carefully monitor the exchange-rate’s impact on the economy.

While speculation among traders persists that the BOJ will eventually adjust policy amid a global tightening wave, Kuroda has stressed the need to continue easing to support a slow recovery. Most BOJ watchers expect him to refrain from any shift toward tightening before his term ends in April.