🚨JUST IN: 🇯🇵 Japan’s former BoJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda is now calling for rate hikes — a major shift from the man who once led ultra-loose policy.
Kuroda said the BoJ should gradually raise rates toward neutral levels and argued that fiscal policy should tighten too, not loosen. He warned that PM Sanae Takaichi’s push for more spending (including proposals like tax relief on food) could add more inflation pressure and weaken fiscal discipline. Reuters also reports he sees Japan’s inflation running above the BoJ’s 2% target, alongside solid growth and wage gains.
Why this matters: Japan is now facing a real policy clash — BoJ normalization vs. pro-stimulus politics. That tension is becoming a market-moving story for the yen, JGB yields, and risk assets. Reuters separately reported Takaichi’s government nominated two reflation-leaning academics to the BoJ board, reinforcing expectations of a more cautious pace of hikes.
This is no longer just a Japan headline. It’s a global macro signal.