With global interest rates dangerously close to zero and economic recessions still set on their course; policy officials are finding themselves forced to resort to unusual methods for turning things around. For the Bank of Japan however, such extraordinary efforts come with a considerable background. Early Friday morning in Tokyo, Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi said in an interview that the central bank may review its requirements for collateral and expand its corporate debt purchases. This effort mirrors (and lags) similar efforts by the United States. Other highlights from his commentary include an admission that the economy’s slump was the worst in decades and that the authority had no plans to attempt to influence stock prices. All of this is seen as a means for progress; but concerns naturally arise from the suggestion that the BoJ would not rule out a zero interest rate policy and quantitative easing regime. Japan was infamous for just such an approach a decade ago and the results were long-term deflation and a financial market that never quite recovered.