Bank of Japan Keeps Benchmark Interest Rate Unchanged at 0.5%

Rate Maintained After January Hike
Taking Into Account Trump's Tariff Policies and Other Factors

The Bank of Japan, Japan's central bank, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5% on May 1.

Yonhap News

According to Kyodo News, the Bank of Japan decided to maintain its short-term policy rate, which serves as the benchmark rate, without any adjustment at the Monetary Policy Meeting held over two days through May 1.

Previously, at the late January Monetary Policy Meeting, the Bank of Japan raised the short-term policy rate from around 0.25% to around 0.5%. At the mid-March meeting, the rate was kept unchanged.

The financial markets had anticipated the rate freeze, citing increased global economic uncertainty due to the tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration in the United States, as well as expectations of slower economic growth.