Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda on October 3 indicated his intention to continue raising policy rates, stating that "the real interest rate remains extremely low."
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Governor Ueda said at a meeting held in Osaka on the same day, co-hosted by four major economic organizations in Osaka, that if the economy and prices develop as expected, "we will continue to raise the policy rate," adding, "We will make appropriate decisions without any preconceived notions."
Regarding the U.S. economy, he noted, "There does not appear to be any significant negative impact from tariffs," but added, "The question is when and in what form the effects will appear."
Previously, the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy in March of last year for the first time in 17 years. It then raised the benchmark interest rate from the previous range of 0-0.1% to 0.25% in July of last year, and to 0.5% in January of this year. The rate has been maintained at 0.5% for the past eight months.
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