The Bank of Japan on Tuesday decided to scrap the world’s last negative rate policy, introducing a rate hike for the first time in 17 years. The historic move follows robust pay increases that have heightened the BOJ’s confidence that a healthy wage-price cycle is taking root in Japan.
The central bank said in a statement, released after its two-day policy meeting, that such a cycle is more evident now, and “it came in sight that the price stability target of 2% would be achieved in a sustainable and stable manner” in the coming years.
Yet BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda hinted that it would be some time before the central bank rolls out further rate hikes.