A former policy board member of the Bank of Japan said that the Bank of Japan may stay on hold this month, contrary to market expectations.

Former policy board member of the Bank of Japan, Sayuri Shirai, stated that due to the lack of significant inflationary pressure after excluding special factors, the Bank of Japan may keep interest rates unchanged this month, which is in stark contrast to market expectations. Shirai expressed at an event in Tokyo that many people believe that since the Bank of Japan delayed the rate hike in April, they may take action in June, but she believes that this meeting will not adjust interest rates. Her view contradicts the interest rate swap market. Traders are betting at a 77% chance of a rate hike on June 16 and a 92% chance of a rate hike on July 31. Shirai stated that the Bank of Japan can first observe the impact of the government's additional budget and economic growth plan before deciding whether to raise rates. Shirai, currently a professor of economics at Keio University, said that they may raise rates once this year, but inflationary pressure has not intensified to the point where they need to act urgently. Shirai served as a policy board member of the Bank of Japan from April 2011 to March 2016; the Bank of Japan introduced negative interest rates in January 2016, to which she casted a dissenting vote.