BOJ Signals Resilience in Face of External Pressures

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest rates steady on July 31 but signaled its resolve to continue pushing up borrowing costs.

This decision came after the government's yen-buying intervention overnight failed to give the sagging currency lasting support.

Board member Hajime Takata was the sole dissenter, calling for a rate hike to 1.25% to respond to inflationary risks from external demand shocks.

In his post-meeting news conference, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda emphasized the need to scrutinize upside price risks, saying 'Given that underlying inflation is approaching our 2% target, we must scrutinize upside price risks more than ever. We will debate our policy from our next meeting onward with this point in mind.'

This move suggests the BOJ's commitment to keeping prices stable despite rising external pressures.