Japan’s Economy Minister on Interest Rates

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s newly appointed economy minister, Ryosei Akazawa, stated on Wednesday that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may not necessarily support further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

“Our top priority is to ensure that Japan completely exits from deflation,” Akazawa, a close ally of Ishiba, remarked, emphasizing that the process would take time. He noted that Ishiba’s earlier comments about needing to normalize monetary policy come with various conditions.