Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田 和男) said that further increases in the underlying inflation rate could no longer be tolerated and reiterated his stance of continuing to raise interest rates. With the Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting beginning on the 29th of this month, the timing of the next rate hike will be the focus.
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田 和男) said that further increases in the underlying inflation rate, excluding temporary factors caused by government measures, could no longer be tolerated, indicating his stance of continuing to raise interest rates. He said that establishing underlying inflation around 2% would be a major policy objective.
Regarding the neutral interest rate, he said there was currently “no evidence that clearly indicates it is at this level” and indicated that the Bank would make its decision after assessing the cumulative effects of rate hikes to date.
The Bank of Japan is scheduled to hold a meeting from the 29th of this month to decide its monetary policy for the time being, with the timing of the next rate hike the focus. It raised interest rates at a previous meeting for the first time in 3 months, bringing the policy rate to 1.25%.