The Bank of Japan released the minutes of the July policy meeting. One member stated that they should not be overly cautious and miss the opportunity to raise interest rates.

The Bank of Japan released the minutes of its policy meeting on July 30-31, with one policy member saying that the central bank should not be too cautious in order to avoid missing the opportunity to raise interest rates. The member suggested that the central bank could possibly end its wait-and-see approach before the end of 2025. It was mentioned that at least two to three months would be needed to assess the impact of U.S. tariffs. Another member emphasized the importance of timely interest rate hikes, as rapid hikes afterwards could cause considerable damage to the economy. It was noted that adjusting the degree of monetary easing at the right time would be appropriate if inflation remained above 2% for a long period. One member suggested that the central bank should carefully consider whether to raise interest rates, as inflation may temporarily slow down under baseline conditions. Factors such as the optimal size of the current account balance and the overall balance sheet should also be taken into consideration to prevent issues arising from guiding policy rates. The Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged at the July meeting while raising inflation expectations. At the policy meeting last week, two policy members called for an interest rate hike and voted against maintaining the rate unchanged.