Key facts
- Asada said growth and consumption have lacked momentum despite real wages turning positive since the start of 2026.
- Asada said recent price increases have not necessarily been driven by demand factors.
- Asada dissented on the BOJ's decisions to raise interest rates in June and September.
- Asada said the BOJ should give due consideration to the pace of any policy rate hikes.
Bank of Japan board member Toichiro Asada pushed back against calls within the board for a near-term interest rate hike, arguing in a speech to business leaders in Nagasaki on November 12 that premature rate hikes could hurt growth and push down underlying inflation.
Asada said that while an overshoot of inflation above the BOJ's 2% target could have adverse effects on the economy, there was also a risk that the effect of past and future rate hikes may weigh on economic activity and underlying inflation.
He welcomed data showing real wages turned positive since the turn of 2026, but said growth and consumption have lacked momentum. "I believe the recent price increases have not necessarily been driven by demand factors," said Asada, who dissented on the BOJ's decisions to raise interest rates in June and September.
"In this sense, I consider it necessary for the Bank to give due consideration to the pace of any policy rate hikes," he said, stressing the need to avoid cooling growth with too-fast rate hikes.