The BOJ released the minutes of its previous meeting. In light of the shift by the US and European central banks toward rate hikes, the minutes pointed to a change in the policy phase requiring flexible adjustments to the pace and magnitude of additional rate hikes.
The Bank of Japan released the minutes of its previous Monetary Policy Meeting on 5 November. With underlying inflation approaching 2%, the minutes noted a shift toward prioritizing price stability over pushing prices higher, and some participants called for a flexible response regarding the pace and magnitude of rate hikes in light of the shift by the US and European central banks toward rate hikes.
At the September meeting, the BOJ decided by a majority vote to set the additional rate hike at approximately 1.25%. Some members shared the view that AI-related demand was gradually recovering the economy despite the impact of conditions in the Middle East, while others believed that accommodative conditions would continue as underlying inflation approached 2%.
Some members said it was “important to stabilize underlying inflation at around the 2% level,” expressing the view that the policy phase had changed. Other members also expressed a stance of responding to the new phase while taking their previous views into account.