"We will continue to raise rates and adjust the degree of monetary easing"
Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, has indicated plans for an additional increase in the benchmark interest rate.
According to Kyodo News and other sources on December 25, Governor Ueda stated in a speech at an event hosted by Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), a major Japanese economic organization, that if the outlook for the economy and prices is realized, "we will continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary easing."
Governor Ueda also noted that the "real interest rate remains at a very low level" and predicted that the trend of wage increases would continue next year.
Earlier, at its monetary policy meeting on December 19, the Bank of Japan raised its short-term policy interest rate, which serves as the benchmark rate, from "around 0.5%" to "around 0.75%," an increase of 0.25 percentage points. As a result, Japan's benchmark interest rate has reached its highest level in 30 years since 1995.
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