BOJ policymaker signals rate hikes needed to stabilize prices

Sep 13, 2024 | News On Japan

Sep 13, 2024 (NHK) - A Bank of Japan policy board member has signaled that the central bank should raise its short-term interest rate to at least around one percent in stages for price stability.

Tamura Naoki stressed the need for such hikes in the second half of the BOJ's three-year projection period between October 2025 and March 2027.

Tamura touched on Japan's labor shortage and the weaker yen this year. He said the aim is to mitigate upside risks on prices and achieve the bank's price stability target in a sustainable and stable manner.

The BOJ raised its short-term rate in March for the first time in 17 years as it ended its negative interest rate policy.

The bank decided to increase the rate again at the end of July, to around a quarter percent from roughly 0 to 0.1 percent.

Governor Ueda Kazuo and other BOJ policymakers have also commented on interest rates since then. Tamura's remarks on the need for rate hikes were the clearest and the most specific so far.

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