BoJ board member Junko Koeda delivered one of the clearest hawkish signals from the Bank in recent months, arguing that real interest rates remain “significantly low” and must be moved back toward “a state of equilibrium” to avoid “unintended distortions” later.
With Japan’s output gap hovering around zero and labor market tightness intensifying amid widespread staff shortages, she said in a speech that current economic backdrop justifies continued normalization. In her view, the BoJ should “continue to raise” the policy rate as economic conditions improve, adjusting monetary support in line with the broader recovery in activity and prices.
Koeda stressed that underlying inflation is running near 2%, but achieving the target sustainably requires the Bank to test how firmly “underlying inflation has remained stable or been anchored”. That means looking beyond headline data to evaluate whether price momentum can hold as temporary factors fade.
Her message contrasted with recent political pressure urging caution on tightening, reinforcing the divide between policymakers seeking gradual normalization and government voices favoring prolonged accommodation.
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