BOJ Raises Rate Amid Changing Conditions
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda emphasized that conditions for the central bank's monetary policy have changed. This comes as the BOJ raised its policy interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to around 1.25% on September 18, marking the first increase in three months.
The shortest interval between rate hikes since the bubble economy era has sparked concerns about further interest rate hikes. Ueda stated that the central bank will assess the likelihood of its economic and inflation forecasts being realized, as well as associated risks, when determining the pace of future rate increases.
Ueda highlighted that underlying inflation is close to the 2% target but stressed that it's essential to ensure that underlying inflation does not move significantly above 2% and negatively impact the economy.