BOJ Governor: "If Economic and Inflation Outlooks Materialize, We Will Raise Interest Rates"

Benchmark Interest Rate Held Steady at Around 0.5%

Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, stated on the 19th that "if the economic and inflation outlooks (as desired by the authorities) are realized, we will continue to raise the benchmark interest rate," expressing his intention for further hikes.

AFP Yonhap News

According to major Japanese media outlet Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Governor Ueda made these remarks during a press conference held after the Monetary Policy Meeting, citing foreign trade policies as risk factors for the economy and inflation.

Governor Ueda said, "While the underlying inflation rate is gradually rising, there is no change in the perception that it remains below the 2% target."

Regarding the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies, he stated, "It is not at a stage where it can be quantitatively assessed," but added, "However, by early April, some effects may become apparent, so the next Monetary Policy Meeting and economic outlook report will be able to somewhat incorporate this."

The Bank of Japan maintained the benchmark interest rate at around 0.5% during the Monetary Policy Meeting, citing uncertainties such as various countries' trade policies.

Previously, the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy by raising the short-term policy rate, the benchmark interest rate, for the first time in 17 years in March last year. It then raised the policy rate to 0.25% in July of the same year and again to 0.5% in January this year.