Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan decided to raise its policy interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to around 1.25 pct, the highest level in about 31 years, at a two-day meeting of its Policy Board that ended Friday. The last time the policy rate stood at 1.25 pct was back in April 1995. The board voted seven to two to implement its first interest rate hike in three months, the shortest interval between rate increases under BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who assumed the post in 2023. An interval of about three months was last seen during the bubble economy era. The latest rate hike decision came as the Japanese central bank recognized growing upside risks to prices amid soaring crude oil prices reflecting Middle East tensions. While financial market players had expected that the BOJ would implement an interest rate hike once every six months or so, the central bank opted to raise the rates at a faster pace in the process of monetary policy normalization following the end of its massive easing in March 2024. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
