Japan Interest Rate

The pace of adjustments in policy interest rates in Japan would be incomparably slower than recent examples of other major central banks, the central bank's board member Asahi Noguchi said in a speech. He added that domestic inflation still was not very strong and that policymakers should proceed carefully with further changes in monetary policy. Noguchi believed that it would take more time before underlying inflation in the country reaches and stays around the central bank's 2% target. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) delivered the first interest rate hike since 2007 in March, halting its eight years of negative interest rates. Noguchi was known against the decision, saying the BoJ should avoid ending negative interest rates and yield curve control at the same time.