Tamura Takes Ueda's Place at Jackson Hole as Markets Eye G20 Meeting

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will skip this week's Jackson Hole symposium due to scheduling conflicts, sending BOJ Board Member Naoki Tamura in his place. This unusual move has shifted market focus away from Ueda's potential remarks at the gathering and onto whether he attends the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Asheville, North Carolina next week.

Tamura is a known hawk on the BOJ's nine-member policy board, having repeatedly called for periodic rate increases to counter upside inflation risks. His attendance at Jackson Hole signals that the BOJ may be leaning towards raising interest rates, which would follow an earlier hike in June and a joint US-Japan yen intervention this month.

A Reuters poll released this week showed that a majority of economists now expect the BOJ to raise its policy rate to 1.25% from 1% at its meeting on September 17-18. With Ueda's public commentary delayed until at least next week's G20 gathering, Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino's remarks on Thursday will take on added significance as the most direct opportunity for the BOJ to shape market expectations before the September meeting.