BOJ's new policy framework to strengthen monetary policy - Japan Abe

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that the Bank of Japan's new policy framework was intended to strengthen monetary policy and achieve its 2 percent inflation target at the earliest possible time. Abe, speaking in parliament, said specific policy steps should be left up to the BOJ and that he trusted BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. Abe also said it was too early to talk about the BOJ's exit strategy. The BOJ last week shifted monetary policy to targeting short- and long-term rates instead of an expansion in the monetary base with government debt purchases. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)