If Haruhiko Kuroda is starting to lay the groundwork to trim Japan's huge stimulus, he'll be looking over his shoulder at two things: the world outside and a deceased predecessor.

The first issue for the Bank of Japan governor to watch is the international scene, which is getting tougher for central banks eyeing steps away from ultra- accommodation.

Kuroda's speech on Monday in Nagoya that hinted at policy normalization described a benign global growth outlook. It's as though the weaker data of the past month and market gyrations never happened.