BOJ Raises Interest Rates to 1.25% Amid Market Uncertainty

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.25% on Friday, in a widely expected move to prevent inflation from exceeding its 2% target.

At a two-day policy meeting that ended on Friday, the board decided by a 7-2 vote to raise its policy rate from 1%. Board members Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato dissented to the decision.

Nomura Securities' Chief Macro Strategist Naka Matsumzawa said the yen's decline was 'a knee-jerk reaction to the two dissent votes.'