BOJ Seen Hiking Rates in September Amid Weak Yen

Kenya Koshimizu, co-head of global markets at Mizuho Financial Group Inc., expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates soon. He anticipates a rate increase as early as next month and believes the central bank may shorten its policy action interval to once every three months from roughly six months currently.

The yen's weakness, which has persisted despite last month's joint intervention by the US and Japan, is partly attributed to Japan's accommodative monetary policy. Koshimizu said it's difficult to predict the BOJ's terminal rate because it depends on how Japan's economy evolves.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will maintain a 'conservative' stance on investment in Japanese government bonds due to low yields relative to the country's nominal growth rate of about 4%. The bank held about ¥20.6 trillion of JGBs at the end of June, but the bulk is made up of short-term securities maturing within a year.