BOJ Governor Ueda (植田) said that financial conditions remain accommodative as underlying inflation approaches 2%, while indicating a policy of not tolerating any further rise in underlying inflation and making its anchoring a major objective. He also said there was no basis for a view on the neutral interest rate.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda (植田和男) said that financial conditions remain accommodative as underlying inflation approaches 2%, and indicated a policy of continuing to raise the policy rate. This suggested continuity in policy aimed at achieving the price stability target.
He also made clear that he could not tolerate any further rise in underlying inflation and that anchoring it would be a major policy objective. The direction of policy management was presented as maintaining accommodative conditions while continuing appropriate rate hikes.
Regarding the neutral interest rate, he said that there was "no basis on which to give a clear answer," suggesting that there was insufficient information for assessing the current long-term level of interest rates.
In a related comment, Ueda said that he had not continued communications with the US side since his meeting with US Treasury Secretary Bessent (ベッセント) in Asheville.
Going forward, the focus of the BOJ's policy decisions could shift to developments in prices and updates to its view of the neutral interest rate.
This is the substance of the report, and further developments are awaited.