As the dust settles from the Bank of Japan’s historic change to its monetary policy on Tuesday, the immediate impacts may take time to manifest for the average person in Japan. Still, experts have suggested that with future rate hikes likely, changes may be in the cards.
What happened?
The central bank ended its negative interest rate policy, following robust pay increases from annual spring wage negotiations. Those hikes — a 33-year high of 5.28% at major firms, according to an initial tally — helped lay the groundwork for a policy shift by making the BOJ policy board confident that a healthy wage-price cycle is manifesting in Japan.