HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - Bank of Japan executive director Masayuki Matsushima said the Japanese central bank is fully committed to maintaining an easy monetary policy until the deflationary trend shows signs of reversing. He said it is very difficult to move out of the current deflationary trend but the central bank was doing its best given the "very limited scope to manoeuvre monetary policy." He said the central bank aims to stabilize consumer goods prices. He said several factors contributing to the current deflationary trend are weak demand, higher import penetration as well as technological advancement and the rationalisation of Japan's distribution system. Matsushima was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum East Asia summit.