The Bank of Japan is set to maintain ultralow interest rates on Thursday and hold off from major tweaks to its dovish policy guidance as rising raw material costs force it to focus on underpinning a fragile economic recovery.
The BOJ's stubborn commitment to its zero-rate program puts it at odds with major central banks that are shifting toward tighter monetary policy, although inflation in Japan is expected to creep up toward the central bank's 2% target.
In contrast, surging inflation is prodding the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to remove stimulus deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.