BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男) said at a press conference after the G20 that the Bank would consider additional rate hikes at each meeting, including the September monetary policy meeting, and made clear that it would conduct policy with an eye to upside risks to inflation. It was also reported that he met with the U.S. Treasury Secretary on 30 August and held a useful discussion.
BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男) said at a press conference after the G20 meeting that policy would be discussed at every meeting, including the next one, and explicitly stated that the 17–18 September monetary policy meeting was under consideration. He noted that the underlying inflation rate was approaching 2% and said the Bank would conduct policy after taking upside risks to inflation into account.
It emerged that he had met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (ベッセント) on 30 August. Based on the record of the meeting, the Secretary was reported to have urged a renewed review of the continuation of ultra-loose monetary policy. He expressed the view that correcting yen weakness and normalizing monetary policy should be prioritized, and called on the Japanese government to shift its policy.
Market expectations for a September rate hike have strengthened, with reports indicating that the probability has risen in short-term money-market indicators. As the yield on newly issued 10-year Japanese government bonds, a benchmark for long-term interest rates, remains elevated, it has been reported that the BOJ continues to take a cautious approach to its future policy decisions.
The BOJ is closely monitoring movements in the yen as one factor affecting inflation risks, but has indicated that it is not focusing solely on the foreign-exchange market and will conduct policy while taking market developments into account.