The Bank of Japan's summary of last week's meeting signals it is moving closer to raising its interest rate for the first time since 2007, with one member even warning against missing the opportunity to act.
The board ramped up discussions of a near-term exit from current policy settings at the Jan. 22-23 meeting, with some members indicating the conditions that would justify a move are increasing.
"It seems that conditions for policy revision, including the termination of the negative interest rate policy, are being met,” one of nine board members said, according to a summary of opinions. The official cited the likelihood of better results in this year’s annual wage negotiations and signs of improvement for the economy and inflation.