(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "I'm Tara Joseph looking at the week ahead in Asia. And with Japan in the spotlight, I'm joined by Kevin Krolicki, Reuters Bureau Chief based in Tokyo. Kevin, the Bank of Japan meeting early in the week to set policy but I guess the question really is, are they going to show signs that they're yielding to the new Japanese Prime Minister in setting a 2% inflation target?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS JAPAN BUREAU CHIEF, KEVIN KROLICKI, SAYING: "I think, Tara, there is no question there that, that battle is over and the Bank of Japan and the current governor, Mr. Shirakawa, has lost. The markets expect and have priced in this commitment to 2% inflation target. Some additional easing will be the second consecutive easing, first time that's happened in almost a decade. And there's also some expectation that the fringe at the BOJ could do something even more radical, perhaps committing to an open-ended easing without a sort of framework for the amount of government bonds and other assets they'll purchase. So that's-" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "So is the coming week really a point where we're going to say yes, the BOJ has become more radical? Is it going to go that far?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS JAPAN BUREAU CHIEF, KEVIN KROLICKI, SAYING: "Well I think it's a process. There's no question, this is one in a series of steps toward that kind of recognition for that sort of different BOJ, that new day, if you like for the BOJ. The real reckoning probably comes when we get a new governor and new top central bank officials in March and April." (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "Any signs of who those new officials are going to be? Will we start hearing signs of that as early as in the coming week?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS JAPAN BUREAU CHIEF, KEVIN KROLICKI, SAYING: "Yeah. There are already - I don't know if you can call it a short list, but there's already a medium-length list out there. The Abe Administration, Mr. Abe himself has been very active in vetting candidates. And as we get closer to March, it's very likely that you'll see frontrunners and maybe a favorite emerge." (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "We may also see some signs, Kevin, of how the economy is reacting to this new day for the BOJ. We have Japan trade data out, some other indicators. Are we going to see nascent signs of recovery for real?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS JAPAN BUREAU CHIEF, KEVIN KROLICKI, SAYING: "Well I think with regard to exports, at least, the expectation is next week, we'll see a kind of bottoming out in the decline in Japanese exports. The bilateral tensions with China have largely played out and now we're starting to see some impact from the weaker yen. And it's expected that that trend will continue into this year then we'll be getting the trade data for December." (SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "So it sounds like a new day for the BOJ, as you say. Kevin Krolicki, thanks very much for joining me."