The BOJ raised its policy rate to around 1.25%. This was an additional rate hike for the first time in three months since the June meeting, and Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男) explained that “the policy phase has changed.”
The Bank of Japan decided at its monetary policy meeting on the 18th to raise its policy rate to around 1.25%. This was an additional rate hike for the first time in three months since the June meeting. Since ending its negative interest rate policy in March 2024, the BOJ had generally raised rates roughly once every six months, making this the shortest interval.
The BOJ judged that it needed to prepare for upside risks to prices as underlying inflation, excluding temporary factors, approaches its 2% target. At a press conference, Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田和男) stressed that “the policy phase has changed.”
Future policy operations are expected to proceed cautiously, based on keeping policy unchanged and assessing economic developments. The article does not specify any figures, such as the number of future rate hikes.