Ella 
In an interview with NHK, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said there was no rush to relax the central bank’s ultra-loose monetary policy, noting that there was minimal risk of inflation exceeding 2% and rising further.
Key quotes
Currently, I think the chances of this happening are slim.
It takes considerable time to obtain economic data for all small businesses.
There is little confidence that Japan’s inflation rate can be expected to sustainably reach the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
The probability of exiting negative interest rate policy in 2024 is “not zero.”
The key factor will be whether wage increases are extended to small businesses during the annual spring wage talks in 2024, but if small business profits become very large, the Bank of Japan could make a decision even before the outcome of small business wage negotiations. Decide.
Market Reaction
Market reaction was largely muted after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s comments. At press time, USD/JPY was trading around 141.29, down 0.38% on the day.
