Key facts
- Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki Masu is scheduled to deliver a speech and hold a news conference on September 10.
- Other board members, including Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino and Hajime Takata, will also deliver speeches before the September policy meeting.
- The Bank of Japan's next policy meeting is scheduled for September 17-18.
- The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates at the September meeting.
- The BOJ ended its massive stimulus program in 2024 and has raised rates several times since, reaching a 31-year high of 1% in June.
Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki Masu is set to deliver speeches and hold a news conference on September 10, preceding the central bank's policy meeting on September 17-18. This event is part of a series of speeches by board members, including Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino on August 27 and hawkish member Hajime Takata on September 2. The Bank of Japan is widely anticipated to implement a rate hike at its upcoming meeting. This expectation is influenced by recent yen intervention and comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advocating for an early rate increase. Historically, such rate hikes have been signaled in advance through speeches by BOJ officials. The central bank concluded its decade-long stimulus program in 2024 and has since enacted several rate increases, most recently in June, bringing the policy rate to a 31-year high of 1%. However, the gradual pace of these hikes has been cited as a reason for the yen's depreciation to 40-year lows, largely due to the persistent interest rate differential with the United States.