Overview
- Academics Toichiro Asada and Ayano Sato were nominated to the nine-member policy board, set to replace Asahi Noguchi at end-March and Junko Nakagawa in June if approved by both houses.
- Markets read the picks as dovish, sending the yen lower and prompting shifts in bonds and equities as investors reassessed the path of rate increases.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda told the Yomiuri the March and April meetings are live for a possible hike, stressing a data-driven approach and noting stronger spring wage gains could bring the 2% goal forward.
- Hawkish board member Hajime Takata urged vigilance against an inflation overshoot and advocated gradual further hikes, while former governor Haruhiko Kuroda called for tighter monetary and fiscal policy.
- Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said authorities are watching the currency with a strong sense of urgency and are in close contact with the United States as policy signals pull in different directions.