Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda explains reasons behind keeping interest rates intact at the December meeting while speaking at the post-policy meeting press conference on Thursday.
USD/JPY rose sharply after BoJ kept policy rate on hold yesterday. USD/JPY’s rise can also be attributed to the rise in UST yields as Fed guided for slower pace of rate cuts. The pair was last seen at 156.71. Back to BoJ, Governor Ueda’s remarks seem more cautious and appear to be ‘buying time’.
Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s Vice Finance Minister For International Affairs and top foreign exchange official, on Friday, warned against speculative moves on the FX market, adding that he will take appropriate action against excessive forex moves.
Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Friday that he is concerned about the recent foreign exchange move, including those driven by speculation. Kato added that he will ake appropriate action against excessive moves.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members decided to raise the short-term rate target by 15 basis points (bps) from the range of 0%-0.1% to 0.15%-0.25%, following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy review meeting on Wednesday.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members decided to hold the key interest rate steady at 0%, following its April monetary policy review meeting on Friday. The decision came in line with the market expectations.
Following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members decided to lift the interest rate by 10 basis points (bps) from -0.1% to 0% for the first time since 2007. The central bank ended a negative interest rate era that began in 2016. The decision was in line with the market expectations.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the central bank of Japan. Established under the Bank of Japan Act in 1882, it is a juridical entity and neither a government agency nor a private corporation. The BoJ sets monetary policy in the country. Its mandate is to issue banknotes and carry out currency and monetary control to ensure price stability, which means an inflation target of around 2%.
Policy Board: The Policy Board is the bank's highest decision-making body. It determines the guidelines for currency and monetary control, sets the basic principles for carrying out the bank's operations and oversees the performance of the bank's officers, excluding auditors and counselors.
History: The Bank of Japan was established under the Bank of Japan Act, promulgated in June 1882, and began operating as the nation's central bank on October 10, 1882. It was reorganized in 1942 under the Bank of Japan Act of 1942, which reflected the wartime context. The Act of 1942 was amended several times after World War II, and the establishment of the Policy Board as the bank's highest decision-making body occurred in June 1949. In June 1997, the Act of 1942 was revised completely under the principles of independence and transparency. The revised Act came into effect on April 1, 1998.
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Kazuo Ueda was born in Makinohara, Japan, on September 20, 1951. He is the 32nd and current Governor of the BoJ. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Science and Mathematics and received a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He is a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and also worked as a professor at Kyoritsu Women's University. In February 2023, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida nominated Ueda as the governor of the BoJ. He is widely regarded as an expert on monetary policy but was considered a surprise appointment by analysts. He wasn’t even considered a dark-horse candidate, as the BoJ governor role has traditionally gone to long-serving Finance Ministry bureaucrats or central bank officials. Ueda is the first academic economist to lead the BoJ in the post-World War II era.
The World Interest Rates Table reflects the current interest rates of the main countries around the world, set by their respective Central Banks. Rates typically reflect the health of individual economies, as in a perfect scenario, Central Banks tend to rise rates when the economy is growing and therefore instigate inflation.
