Overview
- Governor Kazuo Ueda said further increases will proceed if growth and inflation evolve as projected, underscoring a data‑dependent approach.
- The policy rate stands at 0.75% after December’s hike, the highest level in roughly 30 years, as Japan continues its gradual normalization.
- Ueda said wages and prices are highly likely to rise together moderately, pointing to a strengthening wage–price dynamic.
- Markets reflected the guidance with the yen near ¥157 per dollar and 10‑year JGB yields briefly around 2.125%, the highest in decades.
- A government panel member, former BOJ deputy governor Masazumi Wakatabe, urged anchoring inflation expectations near 2% as inflation has topped that level for nearly four years.